Elmer Joseph Hoffman was a U.S. Representative

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from Illinois

Illinois

Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...

.

Born on a farm in Du Page County, near Wheaton, Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

Wheaton is an affluent community located in DuPage County, Illinois, approximately west of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Wheaton is the county seat of DuPage County...

, Hoffman attended the public schools of Wheaton. He enlisted in the Artillery Corps during the First World War and served in France. After the war, he helped operate his father's farm as well as his own trucking firm 1919-1930. He was employed in Du Page County sheriff's office 1930-1938. He was sheriff

Sheriff

A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....

 of Du Page County in 1939-1942. He served as chief deputy sheriff 1943-1946, and then became sheriff again, 1947-1950. In 1951 he was a probation

Probation

Probation literally means testing of behaviour or abilities. In a legal sense, an offender on probation is ordered to follow certain conditions set forth by the court, often under the supervision of a probation officer...

 officer of Du Page County's circuit and county courts.

Hoffman was elected State treasurer in 1952, reelected in 1956 and served until elected to Congress.

Hoffman was elected as a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 to the Eighty-sixth

86th United States Congress

The Eighty-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1959 to January 3, 1961, during the last two years...

 and to the two succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1959-January 3, 1965). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1964 to the Eighty-ninth

89th United States Congress

-House of Representatives:- Senate :* President of the Senate: Hubert Humphrey , starting January 20, 1965* President pro tempore: Carl Hayden - Majority leadership :* Majority Leader and Democratic Conference Chairman: Mike Mansfield...

 Congress.

Hoffman resided in Wheaton, Illinois

Wheaton, Illinois

Wheaton is an affluent community located in DuPage County, Illinois, approximately west of Chicago and Lake Michigan. Wheaton is the county seat of DuPage County...

, where he died June 25, 1976. He was interred in St. Michael's Cemetery.