Ex-U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde dead at 83
">Henry Hyde, whose 32 years in Congress was highlighted by his unbending opposition to abortion and his key role in impeachment proceedings against President Clinton, has died, the office of the House Republican leader said Thursday.The Illinois Republican, whose long tenure in the House included stints as chairman of the Judiciary and International Relations committees, was 83."America's going to miss him. They missed him the day he resigned," longtime Hyde aide and friend Pat Durante said.Calls from all over the world have poured in since news of Hyde's death become known, Durante noted. Plans for funeral services are still being finalized, with this weekend being a possibility. Complete Coverage Stories Editorial: Henry Hyde, eloquent statesman [11/29/07] Timeline of Hyde's career [11/29/07] Former U.S. Rep Henry Hyde awarded highest civilian honor [11/05/07] Hyde to receive Medal of Freedom [10/30/07] Daily Herald Archive S. Korea gives Hyde its highest civilian medal Students get lesson in civics from Hyde Hyde: Attack on Iraq possible Hyde pleads for cooperation on gun legislation Hyde calls for 'overwhelming' military response The man who calmed the abortion firestorm Hyde wants crackdown on terrorists Hyde: JP 'among great popes in history' Hyde donates memorabilia to Loyola Another Marshall Plan needed for the Palestinians, Hyde says Hyde says no 'retreat' from pro-life platform Cancer claims life of Hyde's son Hyde turns focus to foreign relations Hyde re-energized by new role Hyde promises to scrutinize FBI snafus How will you remember Henry Hyde? Let us know your thoughts on or experiences with the late Congressman at news@dailyherald.com. Related Links Addison Twp. GOP "There hasn't been a congressman I've talked to since he resigned who hasn't told me how much Congress missed him and his capability of being able to cross to the other side of the aisle and bring sides together. It's something very lacking today," Durante said.Even U.S. Rep. Danny Davis, a Chicago Democrat and ardent abortion rights advocate, says he respected Hyde's gamesmanship on the divisive impeachment battle field. "History will record him as a lightning rod during a very divisive period, but he was playing a role," Davis said. "All of us play a role. We all have our parts and your challenge is to play your part well. Whatever part Henry played, he played it well."Joe Karaganis, a lawyer who worked with Hyde on behalf of O'Hare Airport's neighboring communities for some 20 years, cited yet a different Hyde characteristic that he thinks voters value because of its scarcity. "A lot of politicians," Karaganis said, "use this phrase somewhat cavalierly, and it's been used in the current presidential campaign. But Henry lived it: It's called the rule of law; he believed that no man or political institution is above the rule of law. In my work on the O'Hare matter, he applied that principle repeatedly, to religious freedom and to communities he represented, and obviously he applied it on a national scale to a variety of subjects."Hyde was just one leg in of trio of old-guard suburban conservatives who helped shape their party's direction and craft Republican policy for decades. U.S. House Speaker Denny Hastert, who just officially retired, and Rep. Phil Crane, who lost his Lake County-area seat to a Democrat in 2004, expressed sorrow at the passing of their political comrade, but hope their cause will continue to flourish. "He was one of those principled people that when the political winds were blowing in a certain direction, it didn't matter," Crane said. "At least he is in a better place now."Hyde, first elected to Congress in 1974, retired in January 2007. His hand-picked successor beat back a Democratic challenger to hold the seat for Republicans as Democrats took control of Congress in the November 2006 elections.President Bush honored Hyde's long government career by awarding him the nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, earlier this month.Hyde was recognized for being a "powerful defender of life" and an advocate for strong national defense. This text is replaced by the Flash movie. var so = new SWFObject("/flash/dh_hyde/dh_hyde.swf", "dh_hyde", "531", "400", "8", "#ffffff"); so.addParam("wmode", "transparent"); so.addParam("allowscriptaccess", "samedomain"); so.write("flashcontent");As a member of the House International Relations Committee, he backed Bush's decision to invade Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power. He also has been steadfast in his opposition to abortion ever since the first Hyde Amendment passed in 1976, effectively banning government-funded abortions for the poor through Medicaid.Hyde wasn't well enough to travel to Washington to accept the Medal of Freedom because he was in a rehabilitation hospital recuperating from heart bypass surgery he underwent July. But he planned to enjoy his medallion."I may slip it around my neck and parade in front of a mirror every 24 hours," Hyde said at the time.In announcing his retirement two years ago, Hyde cited physical limitations stemming from back surgery two years ago and a desire to go out on his own terms rather than risk defeat as the primary reasons for making his 16th term his last.At that time, Hyde told the Daily Herald: "It's a demanding job and it became increasingly difficult for me to run around in the places you have to to be a successful congressman."On the occasion of Hyde's retirement, Republican colleagues said that focusing on Hyde's role as chief manager of the House lawyers who tried Clinton's 1999 impeachment case would be selling short the legacy of Hyde, who crusaded against abortion, a nuclear freeze and Communism in impassioned speeches."Henry certainly was a giant before he ever got to impeachment," said then-House Speaker Dennis Hastert, whose district bordered Hyde's in DuPage County. "When it comes to social issues, (right to) life issues, Henry Hyde was the arbiter."Durante, who worked with Hyde from the start of his career, said Thursday: "He never ceased to amaze me. Going into the first year with the Hyde amendment it was like, 'is this what it's going to be like for the next 30 years?'" Durante recalled.Given the controversial topics Hyde handled, the congressman faced multiple death threats over the years, his staff remembered."During the impeachment we had thousands. He just did his own thing," Durante said.The congressman didn't expect his well-known Hyde amendment to pass immediately."He ripped out a piece of paper and wrote it up and gave it to the clerk," Durante said. "It's something he felt needed to get done and he did it. And he wouldn't have stopped if it didn't pass. He would have presented it every year."After a political career that spanned all or part of five decades, Hyde said when he retired that he would settle for something less than "giant.""I'd like to be known for being an honest and fair person who accomplished a lot of good for people," he told the Daily Herald.Still, Hyde may be best known to his political enemies as the House's loudest drum beater in the march toward Clinton's impeachment. As House Judiciary chairman, Hyde's famous speech in favor of impeachment helped convince enough colleagues to vote for the rare step."It is not a question of sex," Hyde told the House in December 1998. "It is not a question of lying about sex. The matter before the House is a question of lying under oath. This is a public act. This is called perjury."But opinion polls showed the American public thought the issue was exactly about "lying about sex." And Hyde's own past arguably contributed to that.In September 1998, a week after independent counsel Kenneth Starr's voluminous report was released, the online magazine Salon published a story detailing a 1960s extramarital affair Hyde had with a beautician. Hyde, who was in his 40s at the time, characterized the affair as a "youthful indiscretion," serving him up as a punch line for the late-night talk show hosts.The impeachment episode still clearly stung Hyde, who suggested at the time that if the media wanted to dwell on events in his past, it should also dwell on his World War II combat service in the Navy. What did Hyde think people should conclude about his affair?"That it was a serious lapse in judgment and I never lied about it. I never perjured myself. I never obstructed justice," he said. "My wife #8230; forgave me. My children forgave me. And I don't think that (it) should disqualify me from the human race."Hyde also was steadfast that Clinton deserved to be impeached. Asked what he would have done differently, he said that he'd have had fewer than the 13 House managers, been harder-lined on strategy and publicly criticized the Senate for not taking the trial seriously enough."But other than that, I wouldn't do anything differently. And I thought we did a pretty good job," Hyde said.Writing in his memoir, "My Life" Clinton characterized his impeachment as a partisan witch hunt by Hyde "and the right-wingers who controlled the House.""My mother had raised me to look for the good in everybody," Clinton wrote of Hyde's closing argument to the Senate, which failed to sway enough senators to remove him on any of the four counts. "When I watched the vituperative Mr. Hyde, I was sure there must be a Dr. Jekyll in there somewhere, but I was having a hard time finding him."Later in the book, Clinton credited Hyde for his support for military action in Kosovo, writing "maybe Dr. Jekyll was in there somewhere after all."Leading a presidential impeachment trial probably was beyond Hyde's imagination as he grew up in Chicago as a Catholic Democrat. Later, he attended Georgetown as a basketball standout and got his law degree from Loyola University. After finding Democratic liberalism distasteful, Hyde switched to the GOP and served four terms in the Illinois House. That tenure set him up for a run at Congress, and he was first elected in 1974, a major Democratic year in the midst of an anti-Nixon backlash.From the start, Hyde tackled abortion, an issue that would define most of his political career. When he announced his retirement, he listed as his greatest political accomplishment the 1976 Hyde Amendment banning federally funded abortions, which has since been amended to allow for cases of rape, incest and to save the mother's life.It was Hyde's skill at the microphone that helped get the anti-abortion measure passed. Admirers say his direct-from-central-casting looks - silver hair, tall stature - also helped cement his icon status.Hyde's eventual successor, Peter Roskam, said when Hyde retired that: "I think he's going to be on any list of the most influential members of Congress of the past 50 years."Roskam recalled Hyde arriving early in the morning to write down speeches he'd deliver on a yellow pad with a black felt-tip pen.Hyde spoke out repeatedly against the early 1980s nuclear freeze movement, a position which supporters say helped break up the Soviet Union, and in favor of Lt. Col. Oliver North, who lied about illegal weapons sales during the Iran-Contra scandal.Not that Hyde always toed the party line. He bucked his party to support an assault weapons ban, the Brady law requiring a waiting period for gun purchases, and family medical leave."The connecting thread is he's always trying to help families, whether it's pro-life or pro-family leave. It wasn't just a reflexive partisan approach," said former U.S. Sen. Peter Fitzgerald when Hyde retired. "He's probably been one of the most universally respected men or women in politics the last 20 years."While Hyde was known for his views on national issues, he also had to pay attention to his district, which today includes the northern two-thirds of DuPage and part of Northwest Cook County. In addition to opposing O'Hare International Airport expansion, Hyde brought back $200 million for soundproofing homes and schools around the airport, $300 million to control flooding in the Des Plaines River watershed and $11.4 million to realign congested Irving Park Road. During the 1990s, Hyde was named as a defendant in a federal lawsuit over the collapse of Clyde Federal Savings and Loan, which cost taxpayers $67 million. Hyde, a bank director, ended up not paying anything in the settlement. 460512Henry Hyde speaks at the 1996 GOP Convention in San Diego California to nominate Sen. Bob Dole as the Republican nominee for President..Daily Herald file photo 512355Preparing to announce his retirement.Daily Herald file photo 355512Congressman Henry Hyde in 1981..Daily Herald file photo 512407Hyde waves to Schaumburg residents along a parade route in 1989.Daily Herald file photo 512372Henry Hyde received the Presidential Freedom Medal, earlier this month. Here he is congratulated by Congressman Peter Roskam.Tanit Jarusan | Staff Photographer 379457Henry Hyde in a 1973 hand out photo.Daily Herald file photo 500377Henry Hyde2005 Daily Herald file photo 512391Hyde poses for a photo at a San Diego California hotel while attending the 1996 GOP Convention.Daily Herald file photo