YORKVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A Kendall County judge says he will issue a written decision in 45 days on whether a lawsuit filed against former U.S. House speaker Dennis Hastert by a sexual abuse victim should be dismissed.
Characterizing the lawsuit as a form of extortion, attorneys for Hastert asked Judge Robert Pilmer to dismiss a lawsuit brought in April by the man who contends Hastert owes him $1.8 million of the $3.5 million promised to keep the man silent.
After hearing arguments Friday from the two sides, Pilmer said he will issue his written opinion before a scheduled Nov. 29 hearing.
The 74-year-old Illinois Republican is serving a 15-month prison sentence for violating banking laws in trying to silence the victim, who says he was abused when Hastert was a high school wrestling coach decades ago. The man isn’t identified in court documents.
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