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Land Deal Gives Hastert 300% Profit
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ShareJune 16, 2006 11:00 AM
Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-IL) realized an estimated $2 million dollar profit last year on an Illinois land deal that included acreage near a future interstate highway Hastert pushed to build.
The land was sold just five months after Hastert inserted a $207 million appropriation bill for the Prairie Parkway highway during a closed-door Congressional budget conference.
The deal, representing a 300 per cent return on investment, was reported in Hastert's financial disclosure form filed this week, although the role of a secret trust set up by Hastert to sell the land was not disclosed.
A spokesman for Hastert, Ron Bonjean, confirmed the details, which were first reported by Bill Allison of the Sunlight Foundation, an on-line political watchdog group. The Speaker's spokesman said land in the Plano, Illinois area is "booming," and the future highway had no impact on the price.
Hastert and partners sold the land to developers who plan a large residential sub-division about five miles from the new highway.
Local citizens fighting the highway project were outraged to learn of the Hastert deal. "I think he clearly has his own personal interest and not the public's by buying and selling land to developers for personal profit, when it has a negative long-range effect on the community," said Jan Strasma, head of community group Citizens Against the Sprawlway.
Hastert's spokesman said that Hastert had been a proponent of the highway for 20 years, and there was nothing improper in the deal.
According to Hastert's disclosure form and county property records, a 69-acre parcel was put into a trust, Little Rock Trust #225, on May 2, 2005.
Two months later, in July 2005, Hastert pushed the highway appropriation bill through a conference committee.
On Aug. 6, 2005 President Bush appeared with Hastert at a ceremony in Illinois to celebrate the new highway's funding.
On Dec. 7, 2005 the trust sold the parcel of land to the developers.
The spokesman said, for tax reasons, Hastert used part of his $2 million profit to buy a 275-acre farm in Wisconsin that Hastert intends to use as a future retirement home.
June 16, 2006 in Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert | Permalink | User Comments (73)
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What a crook!
Posted by: Jen | Jun 16, 2006 10:52:08 AM
Hastert even looks like a stereotypical "fat cat."
Posted by: Stephanie Scoggin | Jun 16, 2006 10:53:40 AM
Making money the old fashioned way...
Posted by: reyonthehill | Jun 16, 2006 10:53:46 AM
He is a reblican after all, and we all know they care about themselves getting rich,, everyone else can just suffer,, its amazing how bad the american dream has gotten,, whats the difference between people like him doing this and a family man robbing to support his family , the republican can afford a lawyer and walk away clean.
the only good politician is a ....
ill stop there.
Posted by: Dwight | Jun 16, 2006 11:04:33 AM
I wonder if any news organization will follow this thru ,, or just back off because of the lack of will to bring the truth to light and keep it there until someone becomes accountable.
Posted by: Dwight | Jun 16, 2006 11:08:39 AM
Small-wonder he was so "surprisingly" vocal about the FBI searching Rep. Jefferson's offices and papers--he's got soemthing to hide too. I would say virtually all of them in Congress do. Well, paying-attention in civics must have helped...and not being retarded.
Posted by: Matthew Janovic | Jun 16, 2006 11:09:22 AM
is there any line these corrupt politicians will not cross? unbelievable!
Posted by: DP | Jun 16, 2006 11:10:00 AM
Hastert - another Republican crook.
For more information see:
Grant Administratiomn, Harding Administration, Nixon Administration, Bush Administration
Posted by: Frank Fletcher | Jun 16, 2006 11:15:42 AM
We constantly hear of our government officials doing, at the least, unethical things and possibly illegal. However, they continue to stay in office and take care of themselves. Why can they not be held accountable for their actions? We, the peons of the society" just sit back and do nothing, i.e. only about 25 percent of the registered population votes. Shame on all of us.
Posted by: Ron Carlson | Jun 16, 2006 11:17:11 AM
Typical slimy Republican politician. They all make me ill.
Posted by: Elanor Chubb | Jun 16, 2006 11:18:34 AM
So, what else is new???
Posted by: j.simpson | Jun 16, 2006 11:27:04 AM
Another case of one of the GOP good ole' boys being taken care of. This isn'g a government, it's a massive for-profit corporation. When are the American people going to say that enough is enough???
Posted by: Matt Bowman | Jun 16, 2006 11:28:44 AM
I love our rich politicians always making money. I think we should raise congress's and the president and VP's salary, make it tax free, then put a 75% tax on all other money they make. THAT would root out a little bit of the corruption (of course, not all of it).
Posted by: Smells like fish | Jun 16, 2006 11:33:39 AM
I suggest Speaker Hastert constituents send him to that retirement home as of the mid-term elections.
Posted by: Leigh. Benning | Jun 16, 2006 11:53:09 AM
Be hard to retire in Wisconsin when residing from a jail cell with a long stretch under appeal.Watch the MSM, Diebold, etal conspire to prevent a Democratic "tsunami punishment" election from happening this November which could result in quite a few of the Bush/Cheney/Rummy cabal holding hands in prison. We will have an easy double impeachment of Bush and Cheney which results in exactly nobody getting pardons in January of 2009. Any doubters out there?
Posted by: frodaddy | Jun 16, 2006 11:55:33 AM
Another example of how the real crooks in our nation take advantage of their roles in government and forget about the average American. A simple question... Why do most members of Congress have a higher return on investments as a percentage then ALL of the biggest(and most successful) money managers in the country? Where is the balance of power among our 3 branches of government?
Posted by: Sai | Jun 16, 2006 11:58:25 AM
Had Enough????
Posted by: Phyllis Culbert | Jun 16, 2006 11:58:35 AM
And UNLIKE Slick Willy's Whitewater fiasco, this guy actually MADE money on a land deal. Think he'll be dragged through the courts for it? Hmm? Ah...nope.
Posted by: Dago T | Jun 16, 2006 11:59:23 AM
I will NEVER vote for a Republican again!!!
Posted by: jay Marshall | Jun 16, 2006 12:06:11 PM
Absolute scum. Hastart should resign immediately. Anyone who disagrees has been completely blinded by politics.
Posted by: drew | Jun 16, 2006 12:06:30 PM
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