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FILE - In this June 9, 2015 file photo, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert departs the federal courthouse, in Chicago. A judge on Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021, finalized an out-of-court settlement between Hastert and a man who alleged that Hastert sexually abused him decades ago. (AP Photo/Christian K. Lee, File)

A judge on Wednesday finalized an out-of-court settlement between former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and a man who alleged that Hastert sexually abused him decades ago.

This undated file photo provided by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department shows ex-U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert. (Lake County Sheriff Department via AP File)

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and a man who accused him of child sexual abuse reached a tentative out-of-court settlement Wednesday over Hastert’s refusal to pay the man $1.8 million — the outstanding balance in hush money that the Illinois Republican agreed to pay the man in 2010. 

A law signed by Gov. Bruce Rauner last month eliminates the statute of limitations for criminal sexual assault against children. Fighting for that change was personal for Scott Cross. He joins us in discussion.

(Courtroom sketch by Thomas Gianni)

The disgraced former U.S. House speaker, sentenced last year to 15 months in prison, returns to Chicago to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Eddie Arruza and guests discuss the news of the week, including the bombshell twists in the sentencing of Dennis Hastert.

Courtroom sketch by Thomas Gianni shows Dennis Hastert standing with the aid of a walker while U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin asks him questions about molestation.

In court, Dennis Hastert admitted to being a sexual abuser. We hear from some professionals who treat victims of sexual predators about detecting the signs of child sexual abuse.

While Dennis Hastert admitted to sexual abuse allegations in court Wednesday, he did not see any related charges because the statute of limitations had passed. If the sexual abuse allegations factored into Hastert’s sentencing on charges he skirted banking laws, should the statute of limitations even exist?

Courtroom sketch by Thomas Gianni shows Judge Thomas Durkin pronouncing the sentence upon Dennis Hastert.

Dennis Hastert has gone from being the longest-serving Republican U.S. House Speaker to the highest-ranking federal public official to go to jail. He was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison and to two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $250,000.

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert will face some of his alleged sexual assault victims during sentencing Wednesday in federal court. We preview the proceedings.

Recent court documents claim former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert sexually abused five students. We talk with a Chicago Tribune reporter covering the case.

Courtroom art by Thomas Gianni

The sexual abuse allegations against Dennis Hastert could send him to prison, even though he has not been charged or convicted of the crime. WBEZ senior news editor Robert Wildeboer explains.

Eddie Arruza and and guests discuss the mayor's support for Eddie Johnson as police superintendent, Dennis Hastert's apology and other top stories of the week.

Joel Weisman and his guests discuss the vote by the Chicago Teachers Union's House of Delegates to authorize a one-day strike and other top stories of the week.

Joel Weisman and his panel of guests discuss the guilty plea of Dennis Hastert in a mysterious hush-money case, reports of a federal investigation surrounding Cook County Court Clerk Dorothy Brown, the mayor's budget that sailed through City Council, and other top stories of the week.

(Thomas Gianni)

Former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert pleads guilty to federal charges connected to a hush-money scheme. Did anything else come to light about this mysterious case?

Joel Weisman and his panel of guests discuss the Cubs triumphant march to the National League Championship Series, Barbara Byrd-Bennett’s plea deal and apology and more top stories of the week.