GOP Rep. Grotberg of Illinois Dies After Long Cancer Battle

Rep. John E. Grotberg (R-Ill.), 61, a conservative who was hampered by illness during his first term in Congress, died Saturday of bronchial pneumonia and colon cancer, a spokesman said.

Grotberg, who had battled cancer for more than a decade, had lapsed into a coma in January after undergoing experimental treatment at the National Institutes of Health. He revived in March and returned to Illinois in April.

Despite his illness, Grotberg won renomination in the March primary. But he decided to drop his reelection bid in May and will be succeeded by J. Dennis Hastert, a GOP state legislator who won the seat in the Nov. 4 election.