By Illinois Review
Pressure continues to mount on Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch after the Illinois House Republican Women’s Caucus formally called for his resignation following the release of the Legislative Inspector General’s report detailing former State Rep. Harry Benton’s pattern of sexual harassment.
In a joint statement released Tuesday, the caucus said the Inspector General’s findings contradicted Welch’s previous assurances that his office had handled complaints against Benton appropriately.
“Speaker Welch promised the LIG report released Friday would show the Speaker’s office acted appropriately. Unfortunately, that is not true,” the lawmakers said.
The statement points to one of the report’s most significant findings: that House leadership was aware of additional allegations involving Benton years before taking meaningful action.
“The report found additional victims Speaker Welch knew about years before taking action. The record is worse than anyone knew, raising serious questions about his leadership,” the caucus said. “This report will also deter victims from coming forward in the future, knowing their complaints may not be taken seriously.”
The Republican women also called for an independent investigation into Welch’s handling of the allegations.
“There must be an immediate independent investigation into Speaker Welch’s office and his handling of these allegations,” the statement continued. “Every State Representative and public official in Illinois should join us in calling for Speaker Welch to step down.”
The statement was signed by House Republican Leader Tony McCombie, Assistant Republican Leader Norine Hammond, and State Representatives Jackie Haas, Amy Elik, Amy Grant, Jennifer Sanalitro, Nicole La Ha, and Regan Deering.
The caucus’s call comes as scrutiny of Welch’s leadership continues to intensify following the release of the Legislative Inspector General’s report. According to the report, a former district staffer notified Speaker Welch’s office in April 2023 about allegations involving Benton. Despite those allegations, Welch’s political operation later spent approximately $1.4 million supporting Benton’s 2024 reelection campaign.
The Inspector General ultimately concluded that Benton committed two acts of sexual harassment and documented a broader “pattern and practice” of inappropriate conduct. Benton resigned from the General Assembly earlier this year after additional allegations surfaced.
The Republican Women’s Caucus joins a growing list of public officials and prominent voices calling for Welch’s resignation.
Democrat State Rep. Fred Crespo was among the first lawmakers to publicly call for Welch’s resignation, arguing in a Chicago Tribune op-ed that sexual harassment remains a problem under Welch’s leadership just as it was during the Mike Madigan era.
Crespo criticized Welch for waiting three years after first learning of allegations against Benton before demanding his resignation, allowing Benton to remain in the Democratic caucus, retain committee assignments, and receive approximately $1.4 million in campaign support from Welch’s political operation.
He urged fellow Democrats to demand Welch’s resignation and even suggested the House consider electing the state’s first female House Speaker.
Illinois House Republican Leader Tony McCombie later became the first Republican legislative leader to call for Welch’s resignation following the release of the Legislative Inspector General’s report.
On Wednesday, Republican State Rep. Chris Miller also called for Welch’s resignation.
“Speaker Welch should resign from his position,” Miller said. “It took three years and additional sexual harassment allegations for him to admit his leadership failed to protect victims. If Welch had acted in 2023, we would not be where we are today.”
Former Madigan-era whistleblower Alaina Hampton also called for Welch’s resignation in a Chicago Tribune op-ed published August 3. Hampton wrote that Illinois failed to learn the lessons of the Madigan era, arguing that while ethics reforms were enacted after Madigan’s downfall, the culture of protecting powerful politicians remained unchanged.
She contended that Democrats elevated Welch despite longstanding questions about his own treatment of women and concluded that the Benton scandal demonstrated victims still could not trust House leadership to protect them.
“If accountability applies only to those without power, then nothing has changed,” Hampton wrote. “Welch should resign as speaker of the Illinois House. If he doesn’t, the House Democratic Caucus should vote to remove him.”
The Republican Women’s Caucus also renewed calls for an immediate independent investigation into Welch’s office and his handling of the allegations.
The caucus’s statement comes as calls continue to grow for the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct an independent review into whether the Illinois House Democratic caucus fostered a hostile work environment in violation of federal civil rights laws, including Title VII, and whether House leadership fulfilled its legal obligations after receiving notice of the allegations in 2023.
With calls for Welch’s resignation now coming from Republican leadership, members of his own Democratic Party, the whistleblower whose allegations helped expose misconduct during the Madigan era, and the Illinois House Republican Women’s Caucus, pressure on the Speaker is no longer confined to his political opponents – it is coming from across Illinois’ political landscape.
