I often wonder if there’s something in the Illinois air or water that creates a seemingly endless supply of unethical, entitled and corrupt politicians.
From the state house to local city government, the examples are endless.
So it came as no surprise when even the much respected former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert was recently sentenced to 15 months in prison for illegally structuring bank transactions and paying $1.7 million in hush money over a four and a half year period to conceal a perverted history of sexual abuse of boys during his days as a small-town Illinois wrestling coach.
Hastert, one of the longest-serving Republican House speakers, sat in a wheelchair in the courtroom of U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin, who referred to the former speaker as a “serial child molester” after a two-year investigation which revealed that Hastert had improper sexual contact with at least five boys over 16 years as a trusted coach and teacher.
The investigation spoke of sexual encounters between Hastert and boys in locker rooms and motels, with one of his victims describing Hastert as positioning a La-Z-Boy-type recliner “in direct view of the shower stalls in the locker room where he sat while the boys showered.”
Yet, despite Hastert’s sick and predatory history, his attorneys had the audacity to ask for probation, based upon their assertion that Hastert “feels deep regret and remorse for his actions.” Team Hastert even used the typical excuses, alleging that Hastert is too old (74), frail and sick (suffering from a stroke and blood-infection issues) and that he has already been publicly shamed.
Finally, Hastert’s defense argued that he should be spared because of his public service and contributions to society. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen that card played by defense attorneys over the years for myriad corrupt politicians.
I expect defense attorneys to do their job, but I didn’t expect the prosecutors to cave to the extent of agreeing to a sentencing range of probation to six months in prison (the lowest possible sentence, according to federal guidelines) when the maximum sentence could have been as much as five years.
So Hastert, in my opinion, got away with what amounted to a slap on the wrist. In exchange for his admission of guilt, an insincere, obligatory apology and a pitiful acting job, he got away (for now) with lying to the banks, the feds and summarily destroying the lives and psyches of trusting young men who looked to him for guidance.
Hastert violated their trust and no amount of apologizing and hush money can ameliorate that damage. But the good news is that I believe that there is a special place in hell reserved for sexual predators, and it’s called federal prison.
Email: jtingram_1960@yahoo.com; Twitter@JamesTIngram.
