Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch announced Thursday he won't seek another term at the helm of his chamber next year, acknowledging his tenure was doomed after 26 Democratic state representatives signed a statement calling for a change in leadership.
The seismic statehouse shakeup comes in the wake of revelations over the summer that Welch was aware of sexual harassment allegations against disgraced ex-state Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, almost three years before additional complaints prompted Benton’s resignation.
The call for new leadership was distributed late Wednesday by North Side state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, the most vocal public critic of Welch’s handling of the case and his formation of a working group that she dismissed as a "smokescreen” instead of addressing Springfield’s entrenched culture of harassment.
But the statement demanding Welch's ouster drew signatures from nearly a third of the caucus that’ll be sworn in with a new General Assembly in January, including Cicero state Rep. Lisa Hernandez, chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
“Over the course of the last few months, we have grown increasingly convinced that the House Democratic Caucus needs new leadership,” the lawmakers said. “We represent a broad spectrum of our caucus, and each have come to this decision for our own reasons. We look forward to a robust race for a new Speaker of the House.”
Within 16 hours of the public mutiny — and less than two days after an election that added even more seats to Democrats' supermajority caucus under a political operation spearheaded by Welch — he announced he'll step aside when a new General Assembly is sworn in in January.
“I am proud of this work, but I serve at the pleasure of the caucus, and I want our caucus to lead in unity and take on the mandate we received from voters this past election confidently,” Welch said in a statement. “With that, I look forward to joining the caucus as we usher in our next leader and take our party further into the future.”
Cassidy and three other Dems who led the push for change — state Reps. Mary Beth Canty of Arlington Heights, Tracy Katz Muhl of Northbrook and Larry Walsh of Elwood — later praised Welch for agreeing to give up the gavel.
“Speaker Welch has put the House Democratic Caucus before himself in his decision to clear the path for the emergence of new leadership," the representatives said in a statement. "We look forward to continuing to work with him as a fellow legislator.
"Because the Speaker made his announcement today, he has rightly afforded us plenty of time to ensure the process for choosing a new speaker is deliberate and intentional. We must ensure our next speaker is able to take the time necessary to earn the support of our caucus members, without interference or a finger on the scale from the current Speaker’s operation," they said. "New leadership must work thoughtfully and conscientiously to build a consensus for how we can best serve the needs of the people of Illinois.”
The revolt followed a historic flexing of political muscle by the three-term speaker’s campaign network, which expanded Democrats’ control of the House to a modern-record 78-40 supermajority in 2022.
The Welch-controlled Democrats for the Illinois House political committee raised $35 million to flip at least five more seats in Tuesday’s general election, turning Illinois’ heavily gerrymandered political map an even deeper shade of blue. With two other seats still in play as mail ballots trickled in, that advantage could rise as high as 85-33 over Republicans.
“This is what a winning political operation looks like," Welch said in a statement the day after the election, several hours before the bloc of his colleagues called for a new speaker.
But the rebellion had been brewing behind the scenes for months since the Benton scandal broke also raised questions about Welch’s own behavior. His social media interactions with a complainant in the case left the young woman uncomfortable, for which he later apologized.
The list of his caucus defectors included three incoming representatives freshly elected with Welch’s backing, including state Rep.-elect Jessica Dixon Heitman, who won a full term to Benton’s former seat with the help of $1.6 million in support from Welch-controlled funds.
Nineteen of the 26 signatories are women. Four are part of Welch’s own leadership team: Hernandez, who’s deputy majority leader; plus assistant majority leaders Eva-Dina Delgado, Bob Morgan and Katie Stuart.
Absent Republican support, their votes would've been enough to block Welch from the gavel even if the rest of their party’s staggering new majority had stood by him.
Before Welch's announcement, Canty, the House Democratic Women’s Caucus chair, said she was confident more of her colleagues were ready for new leadership even if they weren't yet comfortable publicly defying Welch.
“The bigger concern is not that [Benton] scandal itself, but really the judgment it showed, from the way it was handled in ‘23, then to ‘26, and then the way it has been handled ever since it was first reported,” Canty said. “All of that shows a standard of judgment that hasn’t inspired confidence.”
Welch has apologized for how he handled the case, but maintained that he had no choice but to continue backing Benton without a formal complaint to spur an investigation. Several members passed on participating in the House working group Welch convened to discuss harassment reporting mechanisms in the Capitol.
Canty said she met with Welch over the summer, and "in that conversation it became clear for me that my concerns are solvable, but not solvable by this speaker," she said.
In a statement, state Rep. Anne Stava, D-Downers Grove, said "the decision came down to believing women who come forward as survivors of sexual harassment and creating a safer workplace environment for all who work in our Capitol and look to the Speaker for guidance and mentorship... Change is rarely easy, but in my experience worth the sacrifices needed to get there."
Stava suggested the new speaker should be a woman, which would be a first for the chamber.
Canty said “maybe now is the time we start looking to our female colleagues, but there are a lot of really great members in this caucus.”
“This is not about trying to pick someone new and put them immediately into the speaker’s role,” Canty said. “It’s important we have a process where candidates put their names forward, and then share with the caucus how they’ll run the chamber, how they’ll run the political operation, and take questions from our caucus.”
Cassidy — who said she’s “not even remotely” interested in becoming speaker — called the response to their rebellion “overwhelmingly positive.”
“I woke up to dozens of text messages from current and former [House] staffers thanking me,” she said. “The problems in our workplace are not limited to the House Democratic Caucus. Any solutions have to be done with both caucuses in both chambers. We need to do an honest accounting of what we haven’t done right.”
Welch finds himself forced out of the office for many of the same reasons it opened up for the first time in a generation about six years ago.
He was elected as Illinois’ first Black speaker in 2021 in the wake of Michael Madigan’s downfall, which was precipitated in part by the legendary ex-political boss’ mishandling of misconduct allegations within his once-vaunted 13th Ward organization. After Madigan’s 36 years as speaker, legislators set a limit of five terms with the gavel.
The Benton fiasco also renewed scrutiny of a 2002 suburban police report that alleged Welch slammed a woman’s head into a countertop during an argument. He was never criminally charged and has denied wrongdoing.
Cassidy, citing unresolved questions about that episode, was the lone Democrat not to support Welch’s initial ascent.
“I had my concerns in his first election as speaker because the issues had been raised,” she said. “I gave him the benefit of the doubt the second time around, but it's not acceptable after what we learned this summer.”
Even before the Benton scandal, some House Democrats had privately grumbled about Welch’s command of sometimes chaotic caucus meetings, as well as a policy of not calling bills for a floor vote without 60 Democrats first signaling support.
“I have worked tirelessly to serve this House Democratic Caucus," Welch said in his Thursday statement. "It is one that I love, and deeply respect. I have always told the caucus that our time in this space is finite, but we are playing an infinite game.
"Diversity is our strength, but unity is our power. Together, we passed historic legislation on transit, cannabis and energy, and secured greater investments in education. We defended vulnerable seats and grew our majority in every election under my leadership, building a historic House Democratic majority," Welch said.
The turnover adds a new layer of political uncertainty as lawmakers return to Springfield for the fall veto session Nov. 17, when Gov. JB Pritzker is hoping they'll to reach a compromise on legislation to help the Chicago Bears build a new stadium in Illinois.
A spokesperson for Pritzker didn't have any immediate comment. Earlier this week, the governor sidestepped questions about whether he thought Welch should stay in power.
"The members of the House get to choose who they want as a leader, and I look forward to working with whoever that may be... Right now, he's the speaker of the House, and I'll work with him."
