In his Tribune column yesterday John Kass weighed in on former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert’s sentencing hearing:
In Hastert’s court filings there are treacly mentions of him as a decent, religious man. But there are no details about what he did to the boys. Without admitting, there can be no redemption. So the mercy plea is a phony.
Check out the column if you want a peek at Illinois’s corrupt machine politics. Both political parties are participants in it and John Kass calls these political bosses “the Combine”.
What has struck me about the case is the speed with which partisans are trying to make political hay out of it. Why pick on partisan politics? Do they think that Republicans are more guilty of hypocrisy than Democrats? I see no evidence of that. I think they’re all schmucks.
Why not more attention to his role as a high school teacher? It seems I can hardly open the paper without reading of a high school teacher, male or female, sexually abusing a student.
It reminds me of the attention that’s been paid to Catholic priests sexually abusing adolescent boys. I agree that it was horrible and the the cover-ups by bishops worse than horrible, unconscionable. The same kinds of cover-ups are probably going on in the schools and among medical doctors.
” Why pick on partisan politics? Do they think that Republicans are more guilty of hypocrisy than Democrats? I see no evidence of that. I think they’re all schmucks.”
Agreed. I always find the hypocrisy arguments pretty stupid. AS to Hastert, I am sure he was a great guy, except for when he was abusing children.
Steve
I had no use for Denny Hastert as speaker, I never had the opportunity to vote for him for anything and probably wouldn’t have if I had the opportunity, and, obviously, I have even less use for him now.
Kass seems to not understand that Hastert is not charged with abuse. If the state goes after Al Capone for tax evasion, one shouldn’t be shocked if law and punishment are about taxes, not homicide.
It sounds like the judge will allow abused people to testify to Hastert’s character, just as all of the people that will testify to Hastert’s positives at sentencing. But the abused people are not victims of the crime, that is not disputed. Defense argued that these non-victims should simply submit their opinions in writing, but the prosecution says one abused person might testify who has appeared recently, and were granted a delay to allow him to summon his courage to testify. He may not testify. If he testifies and is subject to cross-examination, it could move the sentencing up, but it might not. It is a tough decision.
Also, it should be noted that Hastert’s health claims are not being accepted at face value. The court has appointed an independent medical examiner to advise him.
“Why not more attention to his role as a high school teacher?” From a legal perspective, I don’t believe teacher’s had heightened responsibilities. I’ve suggested before that it’s not clear that Hastert committed any crime, because sexual offenses were not anywhere nearly as protective of youth as they are today. And if he had been prosecuted, he probably would not have served any jail time. This is a legal observation, not an ethical/professional one. The past is sometimes a very, strange place.