Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012
INTEREST INCOME:
Interest and fees on loans and leases	$ 40,154	$ 39,208	$ 119,707	$ 116,989
Interest on securities:
Taxable	4,803	4,452	14,174	17,050
Nontaxable	3,443	2,896	10,001	7,786
Interest on federal funds sold	0	0	0	1
Interest on interest bearing deposits in other financial institutions	3	3	9	5
TOTAL INTEREST INCOME	48,403	46,559	143,891	141,831
INTEREST EXPENSE:
Interest on deposits	4,769	5,504	14,911	16,883
Interest on short-term borrowings	131	215	387	652
Interest on other borrowings (includes $523 and $1,552 of interest expense related to derivatives reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013, respectively)	3,623	4,028	11,122	12,114
TOTAL INTEREST EXPENSE	8,523	9,747	26,420	29,649
NET INTEREST INCOME	39,880	36,812	117,471	112,182
Provision for loan and lease losses	5,149	(502)	7,648	4,852
NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR LOAN AND LEASE LOSSES	34,731	37,314	109,823	107,330
NONINTEREST INCOME:
Service charges and fees	4,487	3,944	12,775	11,240
Loan servicing income	3,984	3,016	11,461	7,832
Trust fees	2,918	2,667	8,764	7,940
Brokerage and insurance commissions	1,277	908	3,315	2,757
Securities gains, net (includes $1,118 and $6,612 of net security gains reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013, respectively)	1,118	5,212	6,612	14,106
Gain (loss) on trading account securities	263	(163)	839	(117)
Impairment loss on securities	0	0	0	(981)
Gains on sale of loans held for sale	5,251	13,750	24,246	34,941
Valuation adjustment on mortgage servicing rights	0	(493)	496	(674)
Income on bank owned life insurance	409	382	1,129	1,131
Other noninterest income	1,011	543	2,407	3,257
TOTAL NONINTEREST INCOME	20,718	29,766	72,044	81,432
NONINTEREST EXPENSES:
Salaries and employee benefits	28,847	27,064	88,103	76,444
Occupancy	3,387	2,596	9,796	7,612
Furniture and equipment	1,917	1,541	6,033	4,504
Professional fees	4,486	4,217	12,262	10,938
FDIC insurance assessments	745	811	2,508	2,482
Advertising	1,360	1,183	3,836	3,558
Intangible assets amortization	196	146	594	399
Net loss on repossessed assets	1,069	3,775	4,886	7,986
Other noninterest expenses	5,140	5,826	14,642	14,835
TOTAL NONINTEREST EXPENSES	47,147	47,159	142,660	128,758
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES	8,302	19,921	39,207	60,004
Income taxes (includes $222 and $1,887 of income tax expense reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013, respectively)	1,492	6,338	10,289	19,642
NET INCOME	6,810	13,583	28,918	40,362
Net (income) loss available to noncontrolling interest, net of tax	0	4	(64)	23
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO HEARTLAND	6,810	13,587	28,854	40,385
Preferred dividends and discount	(276)	(949)	(889)	(2,991)
NET INCOME AVAILABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS	$ 6,534	$ 12,638	$ 27,965	$ 37,394
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - BASIC (in dollars per share)	$ 0.39	$ 0.77	$ 1.65	$ 2.27
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - DILUTED (in dollars per share)	$ 0.38	$ 0.75	$ 1.63	$ 2.24
CASH DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.30	$ 0.30