Former U. S. Sen. Alan Dixon Dies At 86

Dave Dahl -- Illinois Radio Network

When the history of Illinois politics in the Twentieth Century is written, Alan Dixon will have a prominent role.

The two-term U. S. Senator, whose first elective loss in a 43-year career was in the 1992 Democratic primary, died Sunday at his Fairview Heights home.  Today would have been his 87^thbirthday.

The former state lawmaker, state treasurer, secretary of state, and U. S. senator saw his political career end when Carol Moseley-Braun won a three-way primary.

In an interview last summer to promote his book, The Gentleman from Illinois, Dixon blamed the loss on backlash against his vote to confirm now-U. S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

“I found nothing against his reputation in the hearing,” Dixon said, adding “it was pretty obvious he had a relationship” with sexual harassment accuser Anita Hill.

As for his book – which he wrote in longhand on legal pads – “Everything in there, and some of it is pretty daggone shocking, is true. It's true,” Dixon said. “It happened the way it is written.”