Dennis Hastert's lawyer says the former U.S. House Speaker had a stroke during the first week of November and has been hospitalized since then.
Attorney Tom Green says Hastert had a stroke, has been treated for sepsis and had two back surgeries while in the hospital.
The 73-year-old Hastert pleaded guilty Oct. 28 to a felony count of evading bank reporting laws in a hush-money scheme.
In the written plea agreement, the Illinois Republican directly acknowledged for the first time that he sought to pay someone $3.5 million to hide misconduct.
The misconduct dates back several decades to about the time the longtime GOP leader was a high school wrestling coach.
