Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert Dies At 84 In Illinois
Dennis Hastert, the former Republican speaker of the U.S. House, died at his Illinois home over the prior weekend, Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell said Monday, October 5, 2026.[1]
He was 84, and the coroner said his death was from natural causes.[1]
Hastert served in the U.S. House from 1987 to 2007 and was House speaker from 1999 to 2007, making him the longest-serving Republican speaker.[1]
In 2016 he was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for banking-law violations tied to hush-money payments, and he admitted in court to sexually abusing boys when he was a high school wrestling coach.[1]
U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin called Hastert a "serial child molester" at sentencing, and prosecutors said sex-abuse charges were barred by statutes of limitations.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- Kendall County Coroner Jacquie Purcell said Monday, October 5, 2026, that Dennis Hastert died at his Illinois home over the prior weekend of natural causes.
- Hastert, born in 1942 in Aurora, Illinois, served in the U.S. House from 1987 to 2007 and was House speaker from 1999 to 2007, making him the longest-serving Republican speaker.
- He was sentenced in 2016 to 15 months in federal prison for banking-law violations tied to hush money payments and admitted in court to sexually abusing boys as a high school wrestling coach.
- U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin called Hastert a "serial child molester" at sentencing; sex-abuse charges were barred by statutes of limitations.
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