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Posted on 10/05/2026 4:39:20 PM PDT by Morgana
Washington — Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, who represented Illinois for two decades in Congress and was jailed for violating banking laws, has died, a coroner in Illinois said. He was 84.
Both the longest-serving Republican House speaker and the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to serve a prison sentence, Hastert's stunning fall from grace came in 2016, when he was sentenced to 15 months in prison on charges related to his concealment of hush money payments made to cover up his sexual abuse of teenage boys during his time as a high school wrestling coach.
Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell confirmed Monday that Hastert died at his home over the weekend due to natural causes. No further details were given.
Born in 1942 in Aurora, Illinois, Hastert grew up in a farming community. He went on to graduate from Wheaton College, where he received a degree in economics, before earning a teaching degree from Northern Illinois University. Hastert married Jean Kahl in 1973. The couple had two sons.
Hastert worked as a teacher in Illinois for 16 years while coaching wrestling. In 1976, he was named Illinois Coach of the Year. Four decades later, he would admit to sexually abusing boys during his time as a coach.
Hastert then served in the Illinois legislature, before going on to be elected to represent Illinois' 14th district in the U.S. House in 1986.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbsnews.com ...
I'm SURE CBS News will use that headline when Slick Willy croaks.
I think in some states the “statute of limitations” on sexual abuse cases has been lengthened in recent years, maybe even made non-ending?
Usually I’m against that, since crimes need to be reported in a reasonable amount of time in order for all the evidence and witnesses to be relatively fresh, and able to be cross-examined properly.
But in this case? Especially since Hastert (spit!) admitted to the abuse? Fifteen months was WAY too light of a sentence. And he probably served his 1.25 years in a cushy joint.
Never heard of him until he became speaker succeeding Newt. How did this guy come outta nowhere? Is it what they had on him? I’m sure Newt didn’t know or did he?
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