ILL-inois: Ex-House Speaker Hastert indicted

Former House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL) came to politics through a unique path than other public officials. Hastert was a teacher and a wrestling coach for sixteen years before being elected to the House of Representatives in a mostly rural district.

But Denny's career may have a similar ending to other politicians, particularly those from Illinois.

From ABC 7 Chicago:

Federal prosecutors have indicted former U.S. House Speaker House Dennis Hastert on bank-related charges.

Read the full indictment here

Hastert, after leaving the House of Representatives, had been criticized for conducting private business through his government-funded office, but that doesn't appear to be the substance of this indictment.

The indictment alleges that between 2010 and 2014, Hastert withdrew $1.7 million dollars from a variety of different bank accounts he controlled and gave it to an unnamed person, identified at this point only as "Individual A."

Further, the indictment says that Hastert had agreed to provide Individual A with $3.5 million to "compensate for and conceal his prior misconduct against Individual A." The alleged misconduct is not specified in the indictment.

Too many pols--again particularly those from Illinois--view politics as a way to strike it rich.

Sadly, Bruce Rauner, who made his money in the private sector, was criticized by liberals for "buying" the governor's office. Rauner has the order of things right--he made his money before entering politics. As for "buying" the governorship, the public-sector unions did that for Rod Blagojevich and Pat Quinn, the Chicago Democrats who preceded Rauner.