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 Hastert, 74, once one of the country's most powerful politicians,
was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 months in federal prison. During
the sentencing hearing, Hastert acknowledged sexually abusing boys
when he was a teacher and coach in his hometown of Yorkville,
Illinois.
The victim, identified as James Doe, filed the civil lawsuit in
Kendall County Circuit Court in northeastern Illinois, claiming
Hastert owes him the unpaid portion of a $3.5 million deal they
verbally agreed to in 2008 to compensate him for decades of pain and
suffering.
Judge Robert Pilmer ruled at a hearing that Doe is to file within
seven days a complaint under seal using his legal name, but that he
can proceed under a fictitious name until further ordered by the
court.
 "We appreciate the Court allowing us to go forward under a
fictitious name for now," Kristi Browne, the attorney for the
plaintiff, said in an email. "It’s procedures like this one that
make it at least a little easier for victims of abuse to come
forward."
Lawyers for Hastert declined to comment.
Doe said he was 14 when he was molested by Hastert, a trusted family
friend, high school teacher and "beloved coach" of the state
champion wrestling team in Yorkville.
Since he was charged with a financial crime last year, Hastert's
portrait has been removed from the U.S. Capitol and his name
stripped from a policy center at his alma mater, Wheaton College.
More humiliation and financial consequences could follow.
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On Thursday, the National Wrestling Hall of Fame said it is
considering removing Hastert as an inductee.
Hastert was inducted to the Stillwater, Oklahoma hall twice, once in
1995 and again in 2000, Lee Roy Smith, the hall's executive
director, said. The hall's governing board will vote early next week
on an ethics committee's recommendation on whether to remove
Hastert, Smith said.
Also on Wednesday, Hastert was stripped of his teacher's pension,
ending his $16,622-a-year annuity built up from his 16 years of
teaching. Since 1997, Hastert has received $237,045 in teacher
pension payments.
Illinois State Senator Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant on Thursday called
for Hastert to be stripped of all taxpayer-funded pensions from
previous jobs.
(Reporting by Suzannah Gonzales; Editing by Fiona Ortiz, Alan Crosby
and James Dalgleish)
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