DeKALB | At a Thursday press conference in Chicago, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.), also the representative of the local 14th Congressional District, announced he will not resign in light of the scandal surrounding former Congressman Mark Foley.

“I am deeply sorry this has happened,” Hastert said at the press conference. “We’ve asked the ethics committee to look into this matter.”

Hastert is also intent upon launching an investigation through the justice department.

Because all the facts have not yet surfaced, no prosecution can be made yet.

“I don’t know who knew what when,” Hastert said.

The speaker also denied any suspicious involvement in the situation, saying he first learned of the incident on Friday.

“I haven’t done anything wrong. What we need to do is start talking about the issues,” Hastert said. “I’m going to run and presumably win.”

Hastert also announced the creation of an official “congressional page tip line” to keep communication lines open about more information regarding House pages or the Foley scandal.

Callers are asked to provide any information regarding “former Congressman Mark Foley and his contacts or communications with any current or former House pages,” the statement said.

“As the speaker I take responsibility for everything in the building. The buck stops here. The safety and security of the students in the page program is imperative,” Hastert said in a released statement.

Caitlin Mullen is a City Reporter for the Northern Star.