Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2012
INTEREST INCOME:
Interest and fees on loans and leases	$ 39,827	$ 38,399
Interest on securities:
Taxable	4,659	7,572
Nontaxable	3,198	2,271
Interest on interest bearing deposits in other financial institutions	4	0
TOTAL INTEREST INCOME	47,688	48,242
INTEREST EXPENSE:
Interest on deposits	5,076	5,775
Interest on short-term borrowings	148	213
Interest on other borrowings (includes $505 of interest expense related to derivatives reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2013)	3,797	4,061
TOTAL INTEREST EXPENSE	9,021	10,049
NET INTEREST INCOME	38,667	38,193
Provision for loan and lease losses	637	2,354
NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR LOAN AND LEASE LOSSES	38,030	35,839
NONINTEREST INCOME:
Service charges and fees	4,008	3,584
Loan servicing income	3,371	1,760
Trust fees	2,904	2,613
Brokerage and insurance commissions	951	910
Securities gains, net (includes $3,427 of net security gains reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2013)	3,427	3,943
Gain (loss) on trading account securities	314	(3)
Impairment loss on securities	0	(981)
Gains on sale of loans	9,912	8,502
Valuation adjustment on mortgage servicing rights	496	13
Income on bank owned life insurance	405	482
Other noninterest income	680	2,565
TOTAL NONINTEREST INCOME	26,468	23,388
NONINTEREST EXPENSES:
Salaries and employee benefits	29,740	23,996
Occupancy	3,185	2,482
Furniture and equipment	2,051	1,446
Professional fees	3,543	2,760
FDIC insurance assessments	902	864
Advertising	1,228	1,071
Intangible assets amortization	200	131
Net loss on repossessed assets	1,340	2,904
Other noninterest expenses	4,558	4,486
TOTAL NONINTEREST EXPENSES	46,747	40,140
Income before taxes	17,751	19,087
Income taxes (includes $1,099 of income tax expense reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income for the three months ended March 31, 2013)	5,199	6,272
NET INCOME	12,552	12,815
Net (income) loss available to noncontrolling interest, net of tax	(64)	26
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO HEARTLAND	12,488	12,841
Preferred dividends and discount	(408)	(1,021)
Net income available to common stockholders	$ 12,080	$ 11,820
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - BASIC (in dollars per share)	$ 0.72	$ 0.72
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - DILUTED (in dollars per share)	$ 0.70	$ 0.71
CASH DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10	$ 0.10