Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited) (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013
INTEREST INCOME:
Interest and fees on loans and leases	$ 49,311	$ 40,154	$ 143,796	$ 119,707
Interest on securities:
Taxable	7,547	4,803	22,755	14,174
Nontaxable	3,249	3,443	10,079	10,001
Interest on federal funds sold	1	0	1	0
Interest on interest bearing deposits in other financial institutions	6	3	20	9
TOTAL INTEREST INCOME	60,114	48,403	176,651	143,891
INTEREST EXPENSE:
Interest on deposits	4,655	4,769	14,010	14,911
Interest on short-term borrowings	227	131	655	387
Interest on other borrowings (includes $577 and $523 of interest expense related to derivatives reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $1,671 and $1,552 of interest expense related to derivatives reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively)	3,741	3,623	11,084	11,122
TOTAL INTEREST EXPENSE	8,623	8,523	25,749	26,420
NET INTEREST INCOME	51,491	39,880	150,902	117,471
Provision for loan and lease losses	2,553	5,149	11,635	7,648
NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR LOAN AND LEASE LOSSES	48,938	34,731	139,267	109,823
NONINTEREST INCOME:
Service charges and fees	4,857	4,487	15,007	12,775
Loan servicing income	1,319	598	4,223	865
Trust fees	3,194	2,918	9,747	8,764
Brokerage and insurance commissions	1,044	1,277	3,325	3,315
Securities gains, net (includes $825 and $1,118 of net security gains reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $2,460 and $6,612 of net security gains reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively.)	825	1,118	2,460	6,612
Gain (loss) on trading account securities	0	263	(38)	839
Gains on sale of loans held for sale	8,384	8,637	23,559	34,842
Loss on sales/valuations of other real estate and repossessed assets, net	(444)	(339)	(1,365)	(2,440)
Valuation adjustment on mortgage servicing rights	0	0	0	496
Income on bank owned life insurance	371	409	1,073	1,129
Other noninterest income	612	1,011	1,635	2,407
TOTAL NONINTEREST INCOME	20,162	20,379	59,626	69,604
NONINTEREST EXPENSES:
Salaries and employee benefits	33,546	28,847	98,428	88,103
Occupancy	3,807	3,387	11,841	9,796
Furniture and equipment	2,033	1,917	6,008	6,033
Professional fees	4,429	4,486	13,169	12,262
FDIC insurance assessments	888	745	2,848	2,508
Advertising	1,383	1,360	4,082	3,836
Intangible assets amortization	521	196	1,736	594
Other real estate and loan collection expenses	215	730	1,785	2,446
Other noninterest expenses	7,389	5,140	20,590	14,642
TOTAL NONINTEREST EXPENSES	54,211	46,808	160,487	140,220
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAXES	14,889	8,302	38,406	39,207
Income taxes (includes $93 and $222 of income tax expense reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the three months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $296 and $1,887 of income tax expense reclassified from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) for the nine months ended September 30, 2014 and 2013, respectively)	2,916	1,492	8,769	10,289
NET INCOME	11,973	6,810	29,637	28,918
Net income available to noncontrolling interest, net of tax	0	0	0	(64)
NET INCOME ATTRIBUTABLE TO HEARTLAND	11,973	6,810	29,637	28,854
Preferred dividends and discount	(205)	(276)	(613)	(889)
NET INCOME AVAILABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS	$ 11,768	$ 6,534	$ 29,024	$ 27,965
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - BASIC (in dollars per share)	$ 0.64	$ 0.39	$ 1.57	$ 1.65
EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE - DILUTED (in dollars per share)	$ 0.63	$ 0.38	$ 1.55	$ 1.63
CASH DIVIDENDS DECLARED PER COMMON SHARE (in dollars per share)	$ 0.10	$ 0.10	$ 0.30	$ 0.30