Hastert leaving early, or is he?

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Aides say former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert now plans to resign from Congress sooner than expected -- though he himself isn't confirming that.

The Plano Republican announced in August that he would not seek re-election next year, but he'd said he would finish his current term, which ends in 15 months.

But Republican aides, speaking on background, said Thursday he now intends to leave later this year or early next. An exact date for departure or an announcement was not known.

In Washington, however, Hastert told an NBC reporter the stories are mere "rumor" and that he still has a lot of work to do for Illinois.

Asked if he plans to resign before his term ends, he said, "not at this time."

If he indeed leaves early, the move would trigger a special election in his district that stretches from West Chicago to nearly the Mississippi River. Republicans are hoping to hold the seat ahead of next fall's elections, which some fear will draw large numbers of Democratic voters unhappy with President Bush and the Iraq war.

Hastert has served 21 years in Congress and was the longest-serving Republican speaker in history.

He held the post from January 1999 until Democrats took control of the House early this year.

He previously served in the Illinois General Assembly.

Hastert's offices in Batavia and Washington, D.C., were contacted, but no one is commenting about reports of his possible early departure.

In August, Hastert repeatedly refused to deny the possibility of an early retirement in an interview with the Daily Herald.

"I haven't ruled out anything. (I'll serve) as long as I could be effective," he said. "I'm trying to do a lot of this energy policy stuff. If the Congress just locks down and becomes so partisan that I'm wasting my time ..."

Asked to clarify if he'll stay until his term ends in January 2009, he said it's "all speculation at this point."

Illinois House Republican leader Tom Cross, a Hastert protégé, said Thursday he was unaware of any pending announcement.

A political free-for-all is already shaping up in the race to be the next member of Congress from the district.

Republican candidates include Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns, Rudy Clai of North Aurora, state Sen. Chris Lauzen of Aurora and dairy magnate Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove. Two-time candidate John Laesch of Newark, St. Charles attorney Jotham Stein, Joe Serra of Geneva and scientist Bill Foster of Geneva are facing off on the Democratic side.

An early Hastert departure could have a truly bizarre electoral effect.

If Hastert leaves office with more than 180 days left in his term, a special election would be needed. The exact date would be set by Gov. Rod Blagojevich upon being officially notified that Hastert was no longer in office. The special election is keyed on the actual vacancy, not an announcement.

If Hastert leaves soon, one likely special election date would be Feb. 5 -- the same day as Illinois' early primary -- giving rise to the possibility of two 14th Congressional District elections that day. There'd be one to fill the remainder of Hastert's current term and another, primary election, for the right to seek the office under a new term.

In theory, someone could lose the current office but come back and be the next congressman from the district.

Again, all of this hinges on Hastert actually leaving office, and if and when that occurs is up to him.