According to Capitol Fax, State Representative Murri Briel has stepped down from Speaker Chris Welch’s Workplace Culture and Accountability Working Group, adding another setback to an initiative that was supposed to address workplace culture in the Illinois House but has instead turned into a publicity stunt that has only resulted in bad press.
Briel's departure comes amid allegations involving her conduct toward a former employee, including allegations that she supplied drugs in her campaign office and sexually harassed a former employee.
The timing raises serious questions about Welch’s decision to put an alleged sexual harasser on a working group tasked with addressing the very workplace culture issues now surrounding her.
The working group was already struggling before it got off the ground. Three other Democrats reportedly withdrew after learning their names had been publicly announced without agreeing to participate. Now, a fourth member is leaving amid serious allegations of workplace misconduct.
Speaker Welch cannot claim to be fixing a broken workplace culture while surrounding himself with lawmakers facing serious misconduct allegations. Instead of demanding accountability, Welch appears more focused on managing the political fallout from scandal after scandal.
Meanwhile, House Republicans have pushed concrete ethics reforms, including requiring Legislative Inspector General reports to be made public within 60 days, prohibiting campaign funds from being used for criminal defense related to misconduct, and suspending pension benefits for public officials charged with felonies related to their official duties.