Illinois’ Coroner’s Office confirmed that natural causes led to the death of former House Speaker Dennis Hastert at his residence. He was 84 years old when he died over the weekend in the Chicago area.
The coroner’s office posted the brief statement on its website early Monday morning to confirm the news. No U.S. official outranking Hastert has ever served time in jail, according to Fox News.
He served 20 years in the House of Representatives before resigning in November 2007. His time in power included leading the chamber during the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 2001 anthrax crisis. From 1999 until 2007, he held the gavel as the longest-serving Republican speaker in history. His career ended in disgrace after he admitted to past crimes.
Illinois is where he worked as a high school history teacher and wrestling coach during the 1960s and 1970s, marking the scandal’s origins. Federal prosecutors claimed Hastert molested at least four boys and paid them hush money to maintain silence.
During 2015, he admitted in court to sexually abusing athletes and teenage students as young as 14. He was never charged with sexual abuse itself because the statute of limitations had expired by then.
Rather, he encountered indictment in 2014 for making false statements and unlawfully arranging withdrawals to evade bank reporting rules. The FBI began investigating suspicious cash withdrawals in 2013, including payments totaling $3.5 million to someone known only as “Individual A.” He pled guilty and received a sentence of 15 months in federal prison. The judge also ordered him to pay a $250,000 fine and undergo sex-offender treatment.
Hastert was an accidental speaker who took the job after other candidates stepped down or faced scandals of their own. He served as chief deputy whip before House Speaker Newt Gingrich decided to step aside in late 1998. Republicans tapped him to serve as speaker in 1999 after Bob Livingston withdrew due to his own inappropriate relationship.
Throughout his long career, Hastert remained often quiet and avoided the press and interviews. Known as “Coach” to fellow lawmakers because of his wrestling background, Hastert often proclaimed that he was more of a “listener” than a “speaker.” Because Democrats seized control of the House in the 2006 midterms, he lost the speakership.
After serving 13 months of his sentence, he was released in July 2017.
