Welch Attempts to Thread the Needle With a Divided Caucus
House Speaker Chris Welch in the statehouse June 1. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
House Speaker Chris Welch spent much of Tuesday attempting to keep a caucus divided over his handling of sexual harassment claims against former Rep. Harry Benton in his corner.
Welch and top staff met on Zoom for hours Tuesday with members of the House Democratic Women’s Caucus and the “New Democrats,” a caucus of moderate members.
We’re told much of the conversation took place in a “controlled” environment, preventing Welch from facing any overwhelming mutiny, but he was met with a mix of skepticism, frustration, and support from members, sources who were part of the calls tell The Illinoize.
Sources say Welch also essentially admitted to having inappropriate interactions with the same staffer who reported Benton in 2023 via social media and messaging apps.
“He is kind of owning up to that. He’s made mistakes,” one member said, recounting Welch’s comments.
A spokesperson for Welch did not respond to requests for comment.
Sources say there was a divided reaction in the Women’s Caucus, with some members skeptical of why the Speaker and his staff didn’t pursue the issue further and others, mainly Black women, professing their full support for Welch.
“The fact that Harry Benton was allowed to still have access to staff [after the 2023 report], even though some people in this inner circle knew what he had done, that troubles me,” one member said.
Welch reportedly told members the staffer asked not to pursue the issue any further after she resigned her post in 2023, a statement she disputed in a Chicago Tribune story posted last night. The Illinoize is not identifying the staffer as she hasn’t been identified publicly.
It left some members questioning the Speaker’s response.
“The Speaker has given his explanation of things. I don’t know if I buy it 100%, but it’s an adequate response,” said one member. “I don’t want to say I’m satisfied, but I guess I could just say it’s adequate.”
Among moderates, Welch received more pointed questions, like why he didn’t dump Benton in 2024, the same time he ran primaries against then-Reps. Mary Flowers and Cyril Nichols.
“Maybe it had to do with keeping labor happy,” speculated one member, as Benton, a former union ironworker, had close ties to organized labor. “But I don’t think we got a great answer on that.”
Multiple members we spoke with say Welch hasn’t thoroughly navigated the issue with members yet, especially if additional news stories continue to come out, they don’t expect a “revolt” against Welch anytime soon.
The Speaker’s office also sent draft templates of press releases to members Tuesday to help coordinate messaging to media on the issues in the caucus, though we’re told not all members received the statement suggestions.
In a letter to his caucus Monday, Welch encouraged the Legislative Ethics Commission to release the Legislative Inspector General’s report into Benton. Governor Pritzker has also called for the release. A spokesman for Senate President Don Harmon said Harmon was, essentially, staying out of the issue.
“The President trusts that the members of the commission will follow the law and do what is best for the people of Illinois,” Harmon spokesman John Patterson said.
Even if the commission votes to release the report on Thursday, it isn’t clear how soon the report would be published, though sources say work is being done to release it as soon as possible.
