Dennis Hastert Indictment: Illinois School District Says It Has 'No Knowledge' of Misconduct

May 29, 2015, 5:47 PM UTC

By Erin McClam

The Illinois school district where former House Speaker Dennis Hastert worked decades ago said Friday it has no knowledge of the misconduct alleged in his federal indictment.

The indictment said that Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million to an unidentified person to keep him or her quiet about Hastert’s “prior misconduct.” Hastert was charged with structuring his cash withdrawals from banks to avoid federal reporting requirements.

Yorkville Community Unit School District, where Hastert taught and coached wrestling from 1965 to 1981, said it had “no knowledge of Mr. Hastert’s alleged misconduct, nor has any individual contacted the District to report any such misconduct.”

In a statement, the district said it would cooperate with prosecutors if asked.

Hastert was House speaker from 1999 to 2007. He is alleged to have made the cash withdrawals from 2010 to 2014.

Erin McClam

Erin McClam is a senior writer for NBC News, responsible for reporting, writing and editing general news for NBCNews.com. Prior to joining the site in January 2013, McClam worked at The Associated Press, where he spent 13 years and was most recently financial markets editor. In that role, McClam was responsible for a team of five reporters and a deputy editor that covered the stock and bond markets, financial regulation and the nation's largest banks.

Prior to that role, McClam held a variety of jobs at AP, including being a national correspondent and an original member of its Top Stories Desk editing operation.

McClam lives in New York.