Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert, whose political legacy unraveled in a hush-money scandal involving his sexual abuse of teenage boys, has died at the age of 84, officials said Monday. Hastert died from natural causes Saturday at his home in Chicago, the Kendall County Coroner told the Associated Press. The longest-serving Republican House speaker in history, he was the highest-ranking elected U.S. official to face jail time. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison on charges tied to his efforts to conceal hush-money payments made to cover up his sexual abuse of teenage boys while working as a high school wrestling coach. Hastert represented Northern Illinois in Congress from 1987 to 2007. During his time as Speaker, he worked closely with President George W. Bush on his policy agenda. Bush said he was “indebted to Denny for his candid advice and strong support.” Zachary Farden, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said after Hastert pleaded guilty in 2015 to violating banking laws, “Mr. Hastert’s legend and legacy are gone, and in its place are a broken, humiliated man. That is how it should be.”
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