Illinois Speaker Welch calls on state Rep. Harry Benton to resign after investigation of his conduct

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch on Wednesday called on a Democratic lawmaker from Plainfield accused of improper conduct to resign from the General Assembly after an internal investigation revealed what Welch said were "clear patterns" of behavior that are "outrageous, unethical, and unbecoming of a member of the Illinois House of Representatives."

Welch also said that if state Rep. Harry Benton doesn't resign, Illinois legislative leaders will begin the process of expelling him from the House.

The speaker's statement comes months after Welch, without explanation, removed Benton from eight committee assignments and other House Democratic caucus duties. At the time, sources familiar with the situation told the Tribune the allegations against Benton were of a sexual harassment nature and that the Illinois Legislative Inspector General's office was conducting an investigation.

Welch said on Wednesday that the inspector general's report was complete, that he had reviewed it, and that he had spoken directly with Benton and called for his immediate resignation.

"If he does not resign, we will initiate the process of expelling him from the House," Welch said in prepared remarks.

"The Legislative Inspector General's findings reveal clear patterns of conduct by Representative Benton that are outrageous, unethical, and unbecoming of a member of the Illinois House of Representatives. At my direction, Representative Benton had already been removed from the House Democratic Caucus and stripped of all support from the Speaker's Office. Effective immediately, and at the recommendation of the Inspector General, those actions will remain in place permanently," Welch said.

Benton could not be reached for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Up to now, Welch and his office mostly avoided commenting on the case, saying the investigative process had to run its course. That sparked criticism from Republicans who said Welch was not being transparent about the Benton case.

On Wednesday, Welch said the silence was also done "to protect the privacy of those who came forward, preserve the integrity of the investigation, respect due process, and comply with the guidance and legal requirements established in our ethics procedures."

"Allegations of misconduct are taken with the utmost seriousness, and I am grateful to those who came forward and trusted our office to listen, support them, and ensure their concerns were handled appropriately," Welch said.

Welch in late April reluctantly broke his silence to reporters about his decision to strip Benton of his caucus duties, indicating for the first time that the rights of "victims" were involved, while declining to discuss specifics.

Asked at that time whether Benton should resign, Welch initially tried to sidestep the question, saying he wouldn't discuss it, only to offer a bit more when pressed by reporters, noting the importance of protecting victims' rights.

"But (I) 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 are going to respect victims. We're going to respect people's rights."

Since then, Gov. JB Pritzker had also called on the legislative inspector general, Michael McCuskey, to "work faster" on the Benton case.

Welch spokeswoman Delores Walton said she was unaware of any plans for the speaker's office to publicly release McCuskey's report on the investigation. Reached by the Tribune on Wednesday, McCuskey said he was unaware that Welch put out a prepared statement announcing the completion of the investigation and calling on Benton to resign, but declined further comment.

It also remains unclear when or if the report on the investigation will be made public. At this point, according to the legislative inspector general's website, Welch would have 20 days to respond in writing to McCuskey's findings in his report with a "description of any corrective or disciplinary action imposed or to be imposed."

Welch's predecessor as House speaker, Michael Madigan, lost his grip on his caucus for his poor handling of sexual harassment allegations made by a campaign worker against one of his top lieutenants. Madigan himself was not accused of sexual harassment, but Madigan was forced to defend his leadership before he resigned from the House amid a sweeping federal corruption investigation that later landed him in federal prison.

According to records obtained by the Tribune through an open-records request, Welch sent a memo to the House clerk, John Hollman, on Feb. 25 asking him to remove Benton from eight House committees - Child Care Accessibility & Early Childhood Education, Insurance, Labor & Commerce, Police & Fire, Prescription Drug Affordability & Accessibility, Public Utilities, Transportation: Vehicles & Safety and Veterans' Affairs.

Welch also directed Hollman to remove Benton from two subcommittees, one dealing with domestic and international commerce and the other with utilities, the memo said.

It's not the first time that Welch, a Democrat from Hillside who has been House speaker since 2021, has stripped members of their caucus duties.

Democratic state Rep. Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates lost his committee chairmanship and was disinvited from internal caucus meetings last year after working on a budget plan outside party channels during the final weeks of the 2025 spring legislative session.

Welch also removed longtime Democratic state Rep. Mary Flowers of Chicago from leadership in 2023 after she was accused of repeatedly engaging in inappropriate behavior that included saying a staffer looked like Adolf Hitler. Welch later led an aggressive fundraising campaign against Flowers in favor of her opponent, Michael Crawford of Chicago, in her next election in which she was defeated by Crawford.

Benton, who has worked as an ironworker and served in the House since 2023, faces Republican Gabby Shanahan in a rematch in November. In 2024, Benton won that last race against her by less than 2,400 votes out of more than 52,700 ballots cast, according to the Illinois State Board of Elections.

Following Welch's statement Wednesday, the House Republican Organization, the campaign arm for House Republican lawmakers, issued its own statement, calling Benton a "disgrace."

"One way or another, he won't be a state representative come January. He can leave through the front door, or the voters can throw him out in November," the HRO said.

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This story was originally published July 1, 2026 at 9:42 PM.