Speaker Welch Should Say More about Rep. Harry Benton Scandal
House Speaker Chris Welch leaves the House floor after the State of the State address in 2023. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
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OPINION
When House Speaker Chris Welch passed his first rules package in early 2021 after ascending to lead the chamber, his press release crowed about increasing “transparency” in state government.
Five years later, that promise feels like a lifetime ago, especially when it comes to Welch’s transparency about handling the ethical transgressions of his members.
In late February, we learned that Welch had removed Rep. Harry Benton (D-Plainfield) from the House Democratic caucus and stripped all of his committee assignments.
Welch’s office only offered a “no comment.”
Benton disappeared from Springfield for a few weeks and, as best we can tell, House Democrats were essentially kept in the dark about the Benton situation. Welch’s office didn’t respond when we asked for an update earlier this month.
Last week, we asked Welch after an event in Springfield if the public deserved transparency in the Benton situation.
He didn’t say a word before walking away.
We reported at the time of Benton’s removal from the caucus that he had been accused of sexual harassment, a story corroborated by the Chicago Tribune’s sources. It’s not like this is a story of a member just being unlikable or saying something out of turn.
This week, during a press conference following passage of the Bears/megaprojects bill, reporters (rightfully) held Welch’s feet to the fire. After a barrage of questions, Welch finally addressed the issue, sort of.
“So there is a process in place. You’ve heard me say this before. People are entitled to due process. There is a process in place that guarantees every one of us due process, and we’re going to allow that process to play out. And I think part of that is not coming out and speaking to the press about something and folks are entitled to due process. But also want to underscore something very important, and we shared this with the caucus, we also have to talk about victims and what they’re entitled to,” Welch said. “Coming out and talking to reporters about a process that’s ongoing is not the proper thing to do, and so we’re going to respect due process. We’re going to respect victims. We’re going to respect people’s rights. It’s not to disrespect all of you. I respect what all of you do to the nth degree. As a former member of the media, thank you for what you do. But we have let this process play out.”
By the way, kudos to Isabel Miller, Jerry Nowicki, Jeremy Gorner, and Rich Miller for holding Welch to account.
A couple of issues with the Speaker’s comments.
First, due process relates to legal rights a person has before the government deprives them of freedom, or in a wider view, punishment.
We reported some members were told the issue had been referred to the Legislative Inspector General (which makes sense), but the LIG doesn’t confirm who he is investigating. I even had Inspector General Mike McCuskey on my radio show last week and when I asked him about Benton, he replied “who?” in a cheeky way of not confirming the issue.
In a required quarterly report from his office, though, McCuskey reported a sexual harassment case had been opened by his office this year.
If Benton did something illegal, McCuskey will refer the matter to the Attorney General or local prosecutor of U.S. Attorney, but the public deserves to know if the matter was at least referred for investigation, don’t they?
“He violated our internal rules and the matter has been forwarded to the Legislative Inspector General,” would be a pretty satisfactory statement to much of the media. It would have been to me.
The Speaker also mentioned “victims,” in his statement twice. After the MeToo movement helped lead to the ouster of Welch’s predecessor, what makes him think that the perception that he’s trying to sweep something nefarious under the rug is going to work out in the long run?
The truth is that Welch is more concerned about losing Benton’s seat than he actually is about Benton. Welch spent more than $1 million on broadcast TV ads in the final weeks of the 2024 campaign to get Benton across the finish line against Republican Gabby Shanahan.
Shanahan is back again in 2026 and Republicans believe it is one of their best pickup opportunities in the House, with or without a Benton scandal.
Democrats hope if they sweep this under the rug long enough, they’ll be able to hang on to the seat in November, whether Benton is the candidate or not.
That isn’t transparency, that’s a cover up.
