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Illinois GOP Congressman Who Backed Nixon Impeachment Dead At 87

In this July 27, 1974, file photo, Rep. Thomas Railsback, R-Ill., right, confers with chairman Peter Rodino, D-N.J., during the House Judiciary Committee's debate on impeachment articles in Washington.
(AP Photo, File)
In this July 27, 1974, file photo, Rep. Thomas Railsback, R-Ill., right, confers with chairman Peter Rodino, D-N.J., during the House Judiciary Committee's debate on impeachment articles in Washington.

Thomas Railsback, an Illinois Republican congressman who helped draw up articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon in 1974, has died at age 87. 

Former Republican congressman and U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood confirmed the death on Tuesday. 

Railback died early Monday in Mesa, Arizona, where he lived in a nursing home in recent years. 

Railsback represented the 19th Congressional District for 16 years and was the second ranking member on the House Judiciary Committee when it was conducting the impeachment inquiry into Nixon. Railsback credited Nixon with getting him elected to Congress by campaigning for him in 1966.

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