Hastert loses teacher pension
One of former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert's pension checks isn't in the mail.
The longtime suburban lawmaker has lost his $16,623 annual pension from his time as a teacher and wrestling coach at Yorkville High School, Teachers' Retirement System spokesman Dave Urbanek said.
That means the $1,385.23 payment that typically would have been due to Hastert at the start of the next month won't be coming, Urbanek said.
State law says a pension can be pulled from someone convicted of a felony "arising out of" time as a teacher or administrator.
Hastert's case was ultimately about banking laws, but Urbanek said the sexual abuse factors of the case that dated to Hastert's coaching career meant his teacher pension was taken away.
The pension system's board didn't have to vote.
"The law makes the decision," Urbanek said.
Experts last year estimated Hastert's biggest pension, the one from his time in Congress, was worth about $73,000 per year. They also predicted that amount might not be in danger because the former speaker's case didn't include misconduct that happened during his congressional career.