Aamer Madhani

USA TODAY

CHICAGO — An attorney for former House Speaker Dennis Hastert on Friday asked a federal judge to delay the ex-GOP leader's sentencing in a hush money case set for next month.

Hastert, a longtime U.S. congressman from Illinois, pleaded guilty in October to one count of illegal bank structuring that was tied to an effort to pay hush money to someone for alleged misconduct he committed decades earlier when he was a high school teacher and wrestling coach in Yorkville, Ill.

He is due in court on Feb. 29 for sentencing. But defense attorney John Gallo told the court in a motion that his client has had several health problems since entering a guilty plea and that Hastert's physician says he has months of home care and rehabilitation ahead of him.

Gallo writes that Hastert was hospitalized during the first week in November and has had spinal surgery, a blood infection and a stroke. He was discharged from the hospital on Jan. 15.

"Mr. Hastert continues to need assistance for most daily activities, and also needs both a walker and a leg brace to walk in his household," Gallo writes. "He will also need close follow up with several specialists during this process. When home care is complete, Mr. Hastert will likely be recommended for outpatient physical therapy, which could last between six and twelve additional weeks depending upon the course of recovery."

Illegal bank structuring carries a maximum sentence of five years. But under the plea agreement, federal prosecutor Steven Block recommended that Hastert, the longest serving GOP speaker in history, be sentenced to zero to six months in federal prison.

Ex-Speaker Hastert has been hospitalized since soon after guilty plea

The indictment referred to the alleged wrongdoing by Hastert as “prior misconduct” against an individual decades ago.

But federal law enforcement officials told USA TODAY that Hastert made illegally structured withdrawals as part of an effort to conceal a payoff he was making for sexual misconduct he committed against a male student decades earlier at Yorkville High School, where Hastert worked as a teacher and wrestling coach before entering politics.

Thomas Green, another attorney for Hastert, confirmed that the speaker had been hospitalized last month.

Ex-speaker Dennis Hastert pleads guilty in hush money case

Follow USA TODAY Chicago correspondent Aamer Madhani on Twitter: @AamerISmad