Alan J. Dixon

Dixon studied at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and Washington University School of Law. The recorded working language is English. Places of work recorded in the authority are Washington, D.C. and Springfield. Positions recorded include member of the Illinois House of Representatives and Illinois State Treasurer.

• Jr Sr — United States Senator • State — Illinois • Term Start — January 3, 1981 • Term End — January 3, 1993 • Predecessor — Adlai Stevenson III • Successor — Carol Moseley Braun • Office1 — 34th Secretary of State of Illinois • Governor1 — Jim Thompson • Term Start1 — January 10, 1977 • Term End1 — January 3, 1981 • Predecessor1 — Michael Howlett • Successor1 — Jim Edgar • Office2 — 65th Treasurer of Illinois • Governor2 — Richard B. Ogilvie Dan Walker • Term Start2 — January 11, 1971 • Term End2 — January 10, 1977 • Predecessor2 — Charles W. Woodford • Successor2 — Donald R. Smith • State Senate3 — Illinois • Term Start3 — 1963 • Term End3 — 1971 • State House4 — Illinois • Term Start4 — 1951 • Term End4 — 1963 • Birth Name — Alan John Dixon • Relatives — Jessica Dixon Heitman (granddaughter) • Born — 7 July 1927 • Birthplace — Belleville, Illinois, U.S. • Died — 6 July 2014 • Place of death — Fairview Heights, Illinois, U.S. • Party — Democratic • Education — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (BA) Washington University in St. Louis (JD) • Allegiance — United States • Branch — United States Navy • Battles — World War II

Born in Belleville, Illinois, on July 7, 1927, Dixon attended Illinois public schools and later earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and his J.D. from Washington University School of Law in 1949. While attending the University of Illinois, he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity. During World War II, Dixon served in the United States Navy.

Dixon served as a member of the Illinois House of Representatives from 1951 to 1963 and as a member of the Illinois Senate from 1963 to 1971, serving as Minority Whip for part of that time.

In the fall of 1970, Karl Rove, a future White House Deputy Chief of Staff in the George W. Bush administration, used a false identity to enter the office of Dixon's campaign for Illinois Treasurer and stole 1,000 sheets of paper with campaign letterhead. Rove then printed fake campaign rally fliers promising "free beer, free food, girls and a good time for nothing", and distributed them at rock concerts and homeless shelters, with the effect of disrupting Dixon's rally. Dixon eventually won the election. Rove's role did not become publicly known until August 1973. Rove told the Dallas Morning News in 1999, "It was a youthful prank at the age of 19 and I regret it."

In 1976, Dixon was elected Illinois Secretary of State. The 1976 Illinois State election was turbulent for the Democratic Party. Outgoing Governor Dan Walker had lost the support of the party and was defeated in the primary election. Dixon's election as Secretary of State left two years on his term as State Treasurer. To prevent Walker from appointing himself or anyone else to the position, Dixon proposed to incoming Republican Governor James R. Thompson that he would resign after Thompson was inaugurated if Thompson agreed to Dixon's choice for State Treasurer. Dixon's choice was Donald R. Smith, a Republican who was the ranking Civil Service employee in the State Treasurer's office and who had agreed not to run for re-election. Dixon served as Secretary of State until 1981, when he took office as a United States senator from Illinois.

Dixon was elected to the Senate in 1980, defeating Republican nominee Dave O'Neal by about 14 points. He was re-elected in a landslide in 1986, defeating Republican Judy Koehler by nearly 32 points. Dixon was generally considered a moderate and was less visible nationally than either of his Illinois colleagues, Charles Percy and Paul Simon, both of whom sought the presidency. In 1992, Dixon lost in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate to Carol Moseley Braun, the Cook County Recorder of Deeds and a former State Representative. Dixon's defeat shocked observers; at the time no senator had been defeated in a primary in over a decade and Dixon had a long record of electoral success. His vote to confirm Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court contributed to his defeat. Dixon was sharply criticized during the campaign by Moseley Braun for supporting Clarence Thomas' nomination despite allegations of Thomas sexually harassing Anita Hill. Moseley Braun, a black woman, had the complete support of black voters, and as a known reformist liberal got a large share of liberal voters, and also attracted many women voters in what was termed "The Year of the Woman". Another factor was the third candidate in the race, multi-millionaire attorney Al Hofeld. Hofeld drew away some of the moderate and conservative Democrats who normally supported Dixon. He also spent a large amount of money running advertisements attacking Dixon, weakening his support. The Chicago Tribune ran a piece in which Eric Zorn claimed that Dixon's voting to confirm Clarence Thomas in 1991 set off a chain of events that led to Barack Obama's election as president in 2008, as Moseley Braun's defeat in 1998 allowed Obama to run for the seat without facing a Democratic incumbent in 2004.

Dixon chaired the Defense Base Realignment and Closure Commission in 1994 and 1995. After his term in the Senate, Dixon resumed practicing law with the Bryan Cave law firm in St. Louis and lived in Fairview Heights, Illinois, where he died on July 6, 2014, from natural causes just 1 day shy of his 87th birthday. His autobiography, The Gentleman from Illinois: Stories from Forty Years of Elective Public Service, was published in 2013 by Southern Illinois University Press.

Recorded positions include member of the Illinois House of Representatives, Illinois State Treasurer, Illinois Secretary of State, United States senator and member of the State Senate of Illinois. He worked at Washington, D.C. and Springfield.