Ex-House Speaker Hastert recovering from stroke

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert has been hospitalized since early November after suffering a stroke shortly after he pleaded guilty in Chicago to making hush-money payments to hide wrongdoing in his past, his lawyer confirmed Thursday.

According to the AP, in addition to the stroke, Hastert “has been treated for sepsis, a potentially life-threatening complication of infection, and had two back surgeries while in the hospital”.

“While in the hospital two surgeries on his back were performed”.

Dallas Ingemunson, a longtime friend and political adviser of Hastert’s, told the Chicago Tribune the stroke was “mild” and that Hastert was upbeat in a recent phone call.

As part of a plea deal, Hastert pleaded guilty only to the count of hiding money transactions.

Before entering politics, Hastert, who grew up in rural Oswego and graduated from Oswego High School, taught and coached wrestling at Yorkville High School from the late 1960s through 1981 when he began his first term as a state representative in the Illinois General Assembly. Prosecutors recommended that he serve no more than six months in prison. Hastert’s sentencing date is February 29. Prosecutors aren’t likely to press for proof on the severity of Hastert’s illness or object to a delay, he added.

Rumors about Hastert’s hospitalization have been swirling for several days. In January 1999, House Republicans voted for him to succeed Newt Gingrich, who had lost support because of ethics violations and the party’s poor showing in the 1998 midterm election.

When U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin asked him if he was in good health, Hastert quipped, “Considering I am 73 years old, yes”. The attorney also said Hastert may not get out of the hospital until early 2016.