In April of this year, when asked whether former State Representative Harry Benton should resign, Speaker Welch said, “We also have to talk about victims. We’re gonna respect victims.”
His remarks are a complete contradiction from his actions in 2023.
Key excerpts from the Chicago Tribune story:
"That's when a young female Benton staffer — one of his first hires whose interactions with the lawmaker were part of the investigation — outlined a lengthy series of harassment allegations, many of a sexual nature, to Welch's office."
"Back then, the speaker's office slow-walked the case after the woman reported the harassment allegations to the speaker's then-chief of staff in April 2023, the Tribune found."
"Benton wasn't interviewed by the speaker's top staff until three months later, in July 2023, according to calendar records obtained by the Tribune. That was after the woman had already quit her job, saying she feared for her mental health. According to the former staffer, Benton was not disciplined at the time."
And if this didn’t go far enough, the Tribune found out that: “Welch himself responded to social media posts by the former Benton staffer — who had previously interned in the speaker’s office — in ways she told the Tribune made her ‘uncomfortable.’”
For Speaker Welch, cover-ups and intimidation are all too familiar from his days of carrying water for disgraced former Speaker Michael Madigan. Welch ended the Special Investigating Committee into Madigan, going so far as to call it a "sham" and a "show trial."
House Democrats continue to descend into complete disarray as Rep. Carol Ammons faces federal indictment, former Rep. Harry Benton resigned in disgrace, and now Speaker Welch's office stands accused of attempting to cover up allegations against Benton in 2023.
While House Democrats continue down an unethical and dangerous path, House Republicans are stepping up to hold them accountable. House Republicans have introduced multiple ethics reform bills, including legislation to prohibit campaign funds from being used to pay for criminal defense related to misconduct (HB 1554) and to strengthen the authority of the Legislative Inspector General to investigate and root out corruption at the Capitol (HB 1382).
House Republicans have also filed a petition to create a Special Investigating Committee into the conduct that led to Rep. Carol Ammons' indictment and have repeatedly called for the full Benton report to be released so Illinoisans can know exactly what happened.