Illinois Board Terminates Hastert’s State Lawmaker Pension

An Illinois retirement board is terminating former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s state pension. He’d been collecting about $28-thousand a year for his service in the state legislature. The General Assembly Retirement System's board of trustees voted 5 to 2 Wednesday to end the pension.

State Representative Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside), says Hastert’s financial crimes related to his role as a public official.

“As a result of these payments, they would have affected his public career," he said. "His General Assembly service was part and parcel with that, so we felt it was a prudent decision."

Hastert is serving a 15-month prison term in a hush-money case stemming from his sexual abuse of students as a high school wrestling coach more than 35 years ago. Hastert's attorneys didn't immediately respond to a request for comment on the decision. Hastert could appeal the decision in state court.

The Illinois attorney general's office previously recommended that the board reduce Hastert's pension to $9,000 a year.

Hastert also receives a pension for his tenure in Congress.