During his time as Speaker of the House of Representatives, visitors to Dennis Hastert's official biography would have been greeted by this bullet point on his career as a state lawmaker:
"Prior to Congress, during the 1980s, Hastert served three terms in the Illinois General Assembly, where he spearheaded legislation on child abuse prevention..."
In fact, Hastert co-chaired a commission that reported on how to best prevent child abuse. The former speaker was indicted in federal court Thursday for evading the reporting requirements and lying to FBI related to a series of cash payments reportedly related to sexual misconduct by Hastert during his time as a high school wrestling coach and teacher.
In 1983, the Legislative Investigative Committee, which Hastert co-chaired, authored the report The Child Victim: Child Abuse In The Family and Society, which is more than 400 pages long.
Ultimately, the report led to a series of proposals developed as part of a five-year study of the state's child protection laws. Some of those included creating "multi protection teams" to help find neglected and abused children, tightening child-pornography laws, increasing funding for care centers for abused children, implementing penalties for not reporting abuse, and making child-abuse reporting laws stricter.
The seven recommended proposals were introduced following the report. Hastert co-sponsored all of the proposals, and on two, Hastert served as the lead sponsor along with his co-chairman.
"House Bill 538, sponsored by Representatives Jaffe and Hastert, mandates pilot multidisciplinary teams as described above," the report reads. "House Bill 537, also sponsored by Representatives Jaffe and Hastert, requires DCFS to administer or fund prevention shelters and service programs for abused and neglected children."
The bills together made up the Child Protection Act of 1983.
The Child Victim report ultimately found that "that the existing framework is basically sound" and that legislation leading to small changes could help produce better reporting and handling of child abuse which led the series of bills.
"As our investigation progressed, we began to realize that the current focus of efforts directed toward the problem of child abuse and neglect must change drastically at some point," reads a letter from Hastert and commission members to the legislature.
"Efforts expended on treating abuse and neglect after the fact are not only a poor use of public funds, but also ultimately self-defeating. Primary prevention eventually must be given the same priority as treatment. This realization led us to agree with many experts who believe that legislation will not solve the intractable problem of child abuse and neglect. Rather than being an answer in and of itself, legislation is a framework that should allow for the development of feasible solutions."
The Child Victim report contained three chapters on case studies. These included "child abuse and neglect," "child abuse and neglect resulting in death," and "intrafamilial child sexual abuse."
Late in Hastert's House career, when he served as speaker, the Illinois Republican led efforts to protect children from online predators. The efforts, called "Keeping Kids Safe in Cyberspace," led to series of forums which included representatives of local police agencies and a panel of national Internet and law enforcement experts to explain how to keep children safe on the Internet.
"Recent news stories remind us that there are predators using the Internet to target children," Hastert said at one forum. "And just as we warn our children about 'stranger danger' when they are at the park or answering the door or telephone, we need to be aware of potential dangers in Cyberspace."
Hastert likewise supported the "Deleting Online Predators" Act that required "schools and libraries to limit access to social networking and pornographic websites, and calls on the Federal Trade Commission to launch a tips and information website for parents."
Megan Apper contributed reporting.