Consolidated Statements of Income (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010
INTEREST INCOME:
Interest and fees on loans and leases	$ 156,499	$ 149,603	$ 151,794
Interest on securities:
Taxable	22,129	28,195	34,507
Nontaxable	10,698	13,935	12,616
Interest on federal funds sold	4	3	1
Interest on interest bearing deposits in other financial institutions	8	1	14
TOTAL INTEREST INCOME	189,338	191,737	198,932
INTEREST EXPENSE:
Interest on deposits	22,230	29,224	38,272
Interest on short-term borrowings	818	893	1,160
Interest on other borrowings	16,134	16,226	16,448
TOTAL INTEREST EXPENSE	39,182	46,343	55,880
NET INTEREST INCOME	150,156	145,394	143,052
Provision for loan and lease losses	8,202	29,365	32,508
NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR LOAN AND LEASE LOSSES	141,954	116,029	110,544
NONINTEREST INCOME:
Service charges and fees	15,242	14,303	13,900
Loan servicing income	11,300	5,932	7,232
Trust fees	10,478	9,856	9,206
Brokerage and insurance commissions	3,702	3,511	3,184
Securities gains, net	13,998	13,104	6,834
Gain (loss) on trading account securities	47	89	(91)
Impairment loss on securities	(981)	0	0
Gains on sale of loans	49,198	11,366	8,088
Valuation adjustment on mortgage servicing rights	(477)	(19)	0
Income on bank owned life insurance	1,442	1,349	1,466
Other noninterest income	4,713	86	2,510
TOTAL NONINTEREST INCOME	108,662	59,577	52,329
NONINTEREST EXPENSES:
Salaries and employee benefits	105,727	75,537	63,391
Occupancy	10,629	9,363	9,121
Furniture and equipment	6,326	5,636	6,104
Professional fees	15,338	12,567	10,446
FDIC insurance assessments	3,292	3,777	5,441
Advertising	5,294	4,292	3,830
Intangible assets amortization	562	572	591
Goodwill impairment charge	0	0	1,639
Net loss on repossessed assets	9,969	9,807	15,264
Other noninterest expenses	26,244	15,745	13,412
TOTAL NONINTEREST EXPENSES	183,381	137,296	129,239
Income before income taxes	67,235	38,310	33,634
Income taxes	17,384	10,302	9,846
NET INCOME	49,851	28,008	23,788
Net income (loss) available to noncontrolling interest, net of tax	(59)	36	115
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO HEARTLAND	49,792	28,044	23,903
Preferred dividends and discount	(3,400)	(7,640)	(5,344)
NET INCOME AVAILABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS	$ 46,392	$ 20,404	$ 18,559
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - BASIC (in dollars per share)	$ 2.81	$ 1.24	$ 1.13
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - DILUTED (in dollars per share)	$ 2.77	$ 1.23	$ 1.13
CASH DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE (in dollars per share)	$ 0.50	$ 0.40	$ 0.40