Thomas Fisher Railsback (January 22, 1932 – January 20, 2020) was an American politician and lawyer who served eight terms in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from 1967 to 1983 for . A member of the Republican Party, he sat on the

House Judiciary Committee The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, ...

, which in 1974, voted to refer

articles Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: ...

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. I ...

against President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was t ...

to the full House.

Early life

Railsback was born on January 22, 1932, in

Moline, Illinois Moline ( ) is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in 2020, it is the largest city in Rock Island County. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island ...

, to municipal lawyer Fred Railsback and Elizabeth (Johnson) Railsback. He attended public schools in Moline, received a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four ye ...

from

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalism in the United States, Congrega ...

in 1954, and received a J.D. from

Northwestern University School of Law Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law scho ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

in 1957. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1957 to 1959.

Political career

In November 1962 Railsback was elected as a Republican to the

Illinois House of Representatives The Illinois House of Representatives is the lower house of the Illinois General Assembly. The body was created by the first Illinois Constitution adopted in 1818. The House under the current constitution as amended in 1980 consists of 118 re ...

. Four years later, in the 1966 election, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, defeating the

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seeking re-el ...

Gale Schisler. Although inspired to enter politics by the staunchly

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Barry Goldwater Barry Morris Goldwater (January 2, 1909 – May 29, 1998) was an American politician and United States Air Force officer who was a five-term U.S. Senator from Arizona (1953–1965, 1969–1987) and the United States Republican Party, Republ ...

, Railsback was a

moderate Republican Moderate Republicans may refer to: * Within the United States Republican Party: ** Moderate Republicans (Reconstruction era), active from 1854 to 1877 ** Moderate Republicans (United States, 1930s–1970s) or Rockefeller Republicans ** Moderate Rep ...

while in the House. A longtime member of the

House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...

, he participated in the 1973–74 impeachment process against

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese f ...

. Railsback and his Democratic colleague Walter Flowers led what Railsback called a "fragile bipartisan coalition" which crafted two

against Nixon, charging him with:

obstruction of justice Obstruction of justice, in United States jurisdictions, is an act that involves unduly influencing, impeding, or otherwise interfering with the justice system, especially the legal and procedural tasks of prosecutors, investigators, or other gov ...

in attempting to impede the investigation of the Watergate break-in and

abuse of power Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...

by misusing the authority of the office of the presidency on multiple occasions, dating back to the first year of his administration (1969). He, along with five other Republicans (out of the 17 on the committee), voted with all 21 Democrats in advancing these articles to the House floor. In an emotional July 24, 1974 speech on the House floor, he said that his obligations to uphold the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princip ...

superseded his personal loyalties to Nixon, a friend who Railsback praised as having many significant achievements. Support for Nixon's impeachment among congressional Republicans was the key factor leading to Nixon's decision to resign his office the next month. Despite the vitriol voiced against him by pro-Nixon commentators and constituents, he went on to be re-elected four more times. While in the House, Railsback had a key role in the passage of the

Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) is a United States federal law providing formula grants to states that follow a series of federal protections on the care and treatment of youth in the juvenile justice and cr ...

. In 1979, he and Wisconsin Democrat

David Obey David Ross Obey ( ; born October 3, 1938) is an American lobbyist and former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 1969 to 2011. The district includes much of the northwestern portion of the st ...

co-sponsored legislation to reduce the influence of political action committees in election spending. He opposed Ronald Reagan's effort to abolish and eliminate funding for the

Legal Services Corporation The Legal Services Corporation (LSC) is a publicly funded, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation established by the United States Congress. It seeks to ensure equal access to justice under the law for all Americans by providing funding for civil lega ...

, which provided

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to c ...

to poor Americans. In 1980, Railsback was one of three U.S. House members, along with future Vice President

Dan Quayle James Danforth Quayle (; born February 4, 1947) is an American politician who served as the 44th vice president of the United States from 1989 to 1993 under President George H. W. Bush. A member of the Republican Party, Quayle served as a U.S. ...

of Indiana and Tom Evans of Delaware, involved in the controversial

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

golfing trip with lobbyist Paula Parkinson. Over eight terms in office, Railsback had established strong political support in his district; the ''Washington Post'' noted that "He took what might have been a marginal district—a mixture of rural Republican counties and a labor stronghold in Moline- Rock Island—and built a secure political base by salting his GOP voting record with support for civil rights and some labor positions."David S. Broder
Illinois Congressmen to Be the First to Face Redistricting Ordeal
''Washington Post'' (March 14, 1982). In 1982, however, Illinois had lost two districts in

reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionme ...

after the 1980 census, and through redistricting, Railsback's district (now renumbered as the 17th District) changed in composition to become significantly more conservative. He was defeated for renomination in the 1982 Republican

primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...

by a considerably more conservative Republican,

State Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 ...

Kenneth G. McMillan. McMillan was defeated by Democrat Lane Evans in November.Steven V. Roberts
Illinois Race Illustrates G.O.P. Hopes
''New York Times'' (September 9, 1984). Railsback was a mentor to

Raymond H. LaHood Raymond H. LaHood (born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16th United States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under President Barack Obama. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the Il ...

, who worked for Railsback from 1977 to 1982 before becoming a U.S. Representative himself, and later U.S. Secretary of Transportation in the Obama administration.

Later life

After leaving Congress, Railsback worked as a

lobbyist In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...

. He was executive vice president of the

Motion Picture Association of America The Motion Picture Association (MPA) is an American trade association representing the five major film studios of the United States, as well as the video streaming service Netflix. Founded in 1922 as the Motion Picture Producers and Distri ...

and also worked for the Federal Judges Association as its Washington coordinator.

Personal life

Railsback married Patricia Sloan in 1955, and they had four daughters. The marriage ended in divorce. Railsback later married Joyelyn (Silver) Railsback, known as Joye. He had 19 grandchildren. Railsback retired to

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and W ...

, where he and his wife lived in McCall and

Meridian Meridian or a meridian line (from Latin ''meridies'' via Old French ''meridiane'', meaning “midday”) may refer to Science * Meridian (astronomy), imaginary circle in a plane perpendicular to the planes of the celestial equator and horizon * ...

. He died on January 20, 2020, in

Mesa, Arizona Mesa ( ) is a city in Maricopa County, in the U.S. state of Arizona. It is the most populous city in the East Valley section of the Phoenix Metropolitan Area. It is bordered by Tempe on the west, the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community ...

, after a period of declining health.

References

External links

Member profile
including legislation sponsored or cosponsored, from Congress.gov
Biography
from the ''

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates from ...

'' *
{{DEFAULTSORT:Railsback, Tom 1932 births 2020 deaths People from Moline, Illinois Military personnel from Illinois Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni United States Army soldiers Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives American Congregationalists Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Grinnell College alumni