Dennis Hastert, Former House Speaker, Dies at 84
The former House speaker later admitted sexually abusing teenage wrestlers and served 15 months in federal prison for banking violations.
- Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert died at age 84 at his home over the weekend, Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell confirmed Monday. The death resulted from natural causes.
- Elected to represent Illinois' 14th district in 1986, Hastert rose to become the longest-serving Republican House Speaker, presiding over the chamber from January 1999 until January 2007. He succeeded Newt Gingrich and preceded Nancy Pelosi.
- Eight years after leaving Congress, investigators uncovered that Hastert paid $3.5 million to conceal sexual abuse of students while coaching at Yorkville High School between the 1960s and early 1980s. Prosecutors alleged he abused at least four teenagers.
- U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin sentenced Hastert to 15 months in prison and a $250,000 fine in April 2016 for violating banking laws. Durkin called him a "serial child molester" during sentencing, citing the abuse that destroyed his legacy.
- Hastert became the highest-ranking elected U.S. official ever to serve a federal prison sentence, serving 13 months before release in 2017. He is survived by his wife, Jean, and two adult sons, Joshua and Ethan.
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Dennis Hastert, longtime Republican House speaker who went to prison, dies at age 84 - WXXV News 25
AP Photo/ Christian K. Lee, FILEBy MICHAEL TARM and HERBERT G. McCANN CHICAGO (AP) — Dennis Hastert, whose congressional legacy as the longest-serving Republican House speaker was later fouled by allegations that he had molested high school athletes during his prior career as a teacher and wrestling coach, has died, a coroner said Monday. He was 84. Hastert, who was...
NEWS HEADLINES: Disgraced longest-serving House Speaker Dennis Hastert dies at 84 – One America News Network
Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert leaves the Dirksen Federal Courthouse in a wheelchair after his sentencing on April 27, 2016, in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Joshua Lott/Getty Images) OAN Staff Katherine Mosack10:40 AM – Monday, October 5, 2026 Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, the longest-serving Republican speaker whose political legacy came crashing down after his admission of child sexual abuse, has died at age 84. Kendall Coun…
He was once one of the most powerful men in Washington, and years later he had to go to prison because of an affair surrounding the abuse of jacks: former chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert, is dead. The Republican died at the age of 84 in his home in the Greater Chicago area.
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