ILLINOIS
Northwest Herald

Published: Sunday, May 1, 2016

Federal Judge Thomas M. Durkin did not mince words last week in sentencing former U.S. Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert to a 15-month jail term in a sexual abuse-hush money case. Durkin described Hastert as a “serial child abuser” and described his attempt to accuse one of his victims of extortion as “unconscionable.”

In addition to jail time, Durkin ordered Hastert to undergo sex offender treatment, serve two years of supervised release after his release from prison, and pay $250,000 to a crime victims’ fund.

Hastert admitted in a statement he “mistreated” some of his Yorkville High School athletes when he was a teacher and wrestling coach at the school between 1965 and 1981, when he left YHS to begin his political career. He told the judge and courtroom, “I wanted to apologize for the boys I mistreated when I…