Hassert, not Hastert: Bolingbrook mayor posts signs to clarify road name after complaints

BOLINGBROOK – Confusion about the name of a disgraced ex-politician vs. that of a Will County family for whom a Bolingbrook street is named has driven the village’s mayor to put up signs clarifying the issue.

“Hassert Blvd is Named After The Hassert Family NOT Dennis Hastert The former Speaker,” reads one of five signs, which were scheduled to be posted along the roadway by end-of-day Friday.

Bolingbrook Mayor Roger Claar said the confusion has been an issue since former Republican House Speaker Dennis Hastert began appearing in the news last year because of a hush money case that revealed accusations he sexually abused teenagers when he was a wrestling coach at Yorkville High School in the 1970s. Hastert was sentenced Wednesday to 15 months in prison.

In recent weeks, in the midst of widespread coverage of the case, the complaints about Hassert Boulevard – a major east-west corridor in Bolingbrook that extends into Naperville – have escalated.

Claar said he has received hundreds of emails, phone calls and Facebook posts about the name.

“It got to the point where I can’t answer all of them,” he said.

Claar said he hopes the signs, combined with postings on the village’s website and Facebook page, as well as his personal Facebook page, will help inform the public.

The Hassert family has lived in and around Bolingbrook since the mid-1800s, according to information provided by Claar. The family includes former school and county board members, as well as a former township supervisor. Brent Hassert of Plainfield was a Republican state representative for the area for 16 years.

“I don’t want people to think any worse of my family,” Hassert said.

A Romeoville area park and forest preserve, as well as a sports complex and highway facility in Crest Hill, all bear the Hassert name, he said.

“It’s unfortunate, it really is,” Hassert said of the confusion.

However, Hassert also said he knows former Yorkville wrestler Scott Cross, who testified against Hastert last week about his experience being sexually abused. Hassert clarified that his family’s name-related difficulties pale in comparison.

“My story is nowhere near as important as what those victims went through,” he said.