Chicago Mayor Richard Daley and Representatives Bobby Rush and Judy Biggert spoke at an Illinois tribute to Representative Dennis Hastert. Many others, including President George W. Bush and former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush, spoke in a video tribute made by Wheaton College. Former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert also spoke. Representative Hastert retired November 26, 2007, after 20 years in Congress, ending a political career that began in 1980 with six years in the Illinois General Assembly and included eight years as Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.

Radio hosts Don and Roma Wade served as masters of ceremony at the dinner sponsored by Wheaton College at the Chicago Hilton and Towers. The dinner was a fundraiser for the new J. Dennis Hastert Center for Economics, Government and Public Policy at Wheaton College, Representative Hastert’s alma mater.