To do what I think you are suggesting, I make the hatch a color that I have screened to approx 20%. I then select the item and use the Display Order and Send to Back.
I have used solid hatch before, setting to a halftone pen, and it works fine. You can also do the same thing with a standard ANSI31 pattern and setting the scale very small, so the lines are close together, and use a halftone pen.