{"id":43704,"date":"2026-08-05T17:25:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T22:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/?p=43704"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:25:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T22:25:25","slug":"im-embarrassed-by-it-speaker-welch-apologizes-for-interactions-with-former-staffer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/43704-im-embarrassed-by-it-speaker-welch-apologizes-for-interactions-with-former-staffer\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;I&#8217;m Embarrassed by It&#8217;: Speaker Welch Apologizes for Interactions With Former Staffer"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"pdfprnt-buttons pdfprnt-buttons-post pdfprnt-top-right\"><a href=\"javascript: window.print()\" class=\"pdfprnt-button pdfprnt-button-print\" target=\"_self\" ><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/plugins\/pdf-print\/images\/print.png\" alt=\"image_print\" title=\"Print Content\" \/><span class=\"pdfprnt-button-title pdfprnt-button-print-title\">Print<\/span><\/a><\/div><div class=\"summary-box-gray\" role=\"complementary\" aria-label=\"Summary Box\">\n<h3>by Ben Szalinski, Capitol News Illinois<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-43705 additional-class\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260601-WELCH-JN-0410.webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"1140\" height=\"570\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260601-WELCH-JN-0410.webp 1140w, https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260601-WELCH-JN-0410-300x150.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260601-WELCH-JN-0410-1024x512.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/260601-WELCH-JN-0410-768x384.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1140px) 100vw, 1140px\" \/><\/h3>\n<p>Speaker Emanuel &#8220;Chris&#8221; Welch on the House floor ahead of the Chamber&#8217;s adjournment on June 1, 2026 (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Article Summary<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>House Speaker Emanuel \u201cChris\u201d Welch says he\u2019s sorry for his actions that a former House staff member said made her feel uncomfortable.<\/li>\n<li>Welch\u2019s interactions with the former young female employee of ex-Rep. Harry Benton came under scrutiny as he already faced questions about his handling of sexual harassment claims against Benton.<\/li>\n<li>Welch defended his office\u2019s handling of claims against Benton, putting more blame on processes put in place by former Speaker Mike Madigan.<\/li>\n<li>Welch is pursuing new changes, including streamlining human resources and establishing a legislative working group.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><em>This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>SPRINGFIELD \u2014 Illinois House Speaker Emanuel \u201cChris\u201d Welch is apologizing for his interactions with a former staff member who brought a sexual harassment complaint against ex-Rep. Harry Benton to his office.<\/p>\n<p>Welch told Capitol News Illinois it wasn\u2019t until he read a Chicago Tribune article last month that he realized his actions \u2014 including reacting to the former staffer\u2019s Instagram photos with heart eyes and inviting her to a bar through an encrypted messaging app \u2014 made her feel uncomfortable.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I read that, I felt terrible,\u201d Welch, a Hillside Democrat, said. \u201cThat certainly was not my intent, but I made her feel uncomfortable, and I have to own that. I regret that and I\u2019m embarrassed by it, and I apologize for it. And I think that\u2019s taking responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Welch said he\u2019s changed his social media behavior since the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/07\/17\/state-rep-harry-benton-harassment-claims\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chicago Tribune\u2019s July 17 report<\/a>, which focused heavily on the fact that the staffer initially complained about Benton\u2019s actions toward her in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The staffer, who once served as an intern in Welch\u2019s office, told the paper she had several interactions with the speaker that made her \u201cuncomfortable\u201d after she left Benton\u2019s staff. When she asked him for career advice, for example, he reportedly asked her to move a text conversation to the private messaging app Signal, where messages disappear after a period of time, and meet her at a bar to discuss her request.<\/p>\n<p>That Tribune report put even more pressure on Welch, who was already facing questions for his handling of sexual harassment claims against Benton.<\/p>\n<p>It also wasn\u2019t the first time Welch faced questions about his behavior. He was accused of domestic violence in\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/the-watchdogs\/2026\/07\/28\/illinois-house-speaker-emanuel-chris-welch-harry-benton-michael-j-madigan-sexual-harassment-inquiry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2002<\/a>, though never charged. Years later as a school board member in Proviso Township, he was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/chicago.suntimes.com\/the-watchdogs\/2026\/07\/28\/illinois-house-speaker-emanuel-chris-welch-harry-benton-michael-j-madigan-sexual-harassment-inquiry\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">accused in a lawsuit<\/a> of sexually harassing two school employees, though it was also dismissed.<\/p>\n<p>A group of Democratic women questioned Welch about the 2002 incident in a huddle on the House floor in January 2021 before committing to supporting him as speaker.<\/p>\n<p>Welch\u2019s own interactions were only part of a heavily scrutinized series of events over the last month involving Benton, the former staffer, and a legislative inspector general report that was made public last week.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Handling complaints<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>The LIG report confirmed the Tribune\u2019s reporting that Benton\u2019s former district office employee reported a series of inappropriate comments and sexual harassment instances to Welch\u2019s office in April 2023. However, Welch\u2019s office didn\u2019t address the allegations with Benton until July that year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Read more:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/news\/report-finds-pattern-and-practice-of-sexual-harassment-by-ex-rep-harry-benton\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Report finds \u2018pattern and practice\u2019 of sexual harassment by ex-Rep. Harry Benton<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>According to Welch, his chief of staff at the time heard through second-hand sources that there were issues in Benton\u2019s office. The chief of staff reached out to Benton\u2019s staffer and asked her to put what happened in writing. Welch said his office waited months to address the issue with Benton because she wanted it to wait until she left her job in Benton\u2019s office, fearing retaliation.<\/p>\n<p>Nevertheless, Benton remained part of the Democratic caucus, and Welch-controlled political funds spent $1.4 million in 2024 to help him get reelected. Welch said there had not been any formal complaints against Benton at the time, as the staff member did not want to file a complaint with the LIG.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you\u2019re thinking about 2023, at that time I had an unofficial complaint and a member adamantly deny it,\u201d Welch said. \u201cAnd so, when you think about a person\u2019s due process, you have to honor that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Welch said that 2023 documentation helped build a case this year when he learned about new allegations against Benton. According to documents released by the Legislative Ethics Commission, Benton sexually harassed two different lobbyists at bars and the incidents were reported to the speaker\u2019s office by two state representatives.<\/p>\n<p>Welch said his office learned about the incidents on Feb. 19, and he met with his chief of staff, chief ethics officer and chief counsel the following day. That same day, he said his chief legal counsel verbally informed the LIG. The House was not in session on Feb. 20, and Welch said he met with Benton when the House returned on Feb. 24 and kicked him out of the caucus. A written report wasn\u2019t filed with the LIG until March 4, documents show.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Exploring changes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Welch argued that processes for dealing with complaints \u2014 which he kept in place after their implementation under former Speaker Mike Madigan \u2014 \u201cwere not adequate\u201d and his office is working to come up with stronger procedures.<\/p>\n<p>Sexual harassment in the House was a problem for Madigan in 2018 and it eroded trust with lawmakers, who ultimately forced him out in 2021 as a corruption scandal grew. One of Madigan\u2019s top political operatives,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nprillinois.org\/equity-justice\/2019-10-02\/inspector-general-says-quinn-harassed-alaina-hampton\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Kevin Quinn<\/a>, and his chief of staff,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/chicago\/news\/house-speaker-mike-madigan-timothy-mapes-sexual-harassment-sherri-garrett\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Tim Mapes<\/a>, were both hit with their own allegations of inappropriate behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Eight years later, Benton\u2019s case and Welch\u2019s response to it have again put workplace conduct and sexual harassment in the House back in the spotlight.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt takes all of us to change a culture,\u201d Welch said. \u201cEveryone that sees something should say something. We should have an environment where people are comfortable to say something, and it\u2019s not going to be fixed by one person alone. It\u2019s going to take all of us, and for me, that\u2019s where the systemic failures come into place.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Welch said one of his top priorities is centralizing human resources operations in the House. Currently, district staffers report HR concerns like sexual harassment to the representative that employs them. Welch said that \u201ccomplicates an already volatile situation\u201d and he is looking at ways to have district staff members report to the speaker\u2019s office instead.<\/p>\n<p>Welch is also establishing a House Democratic working group on \u201cculture and accountability\u201d that will be led by Rep. Dagmara Avelar, D-Romeoville. Welch\u2019s working groups typically form a package of policy recommendations that eventually turn into bills, some of which could be on the docket for the November and December veto session.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorkplace culture goes beyond sexual harassment, and a lot of the conversations we\u2019ve been having with members these last two weeks, they believe that too \u2014 that it goes beyond sexual harassment,\u201d Welch said. \u201cIt goes to bullying. It goes to hostile work environment. There\u2019s a lot of things that need to be addressed to change the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Welch said he\u2019s also bringing in an outside investigator to make more recommendations for changes.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Welch\u2019s future<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Rep. Fred Crespo, D-Hoffman Estates, is the only Democratic representative to call for Welch to resign. The two aren\u2019t on speaking terms after Welch removed him from the caucus last year for working on a budget bill without his permission.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt best, his failure to adequately respond to sexual harassment complaints is the consequence of poor management and irresponsibility,\u201d Crespo said in an\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/07\/29\/opinion-illinois-house-speaker-sexual-harassment-emanuel-chris-welch\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">opinion piece<\/a>\u00a0published by the Tribune last week. \u201cAt worst, the speaker doesn\u2019t take sexual harassment seriously and his office normalizes such behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Other Democrats have criticized Welch\u2019s actions and handling of the situation but stopped short of calling on him to resign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Speaker must demonstrate a sincere desire to repair the harm he has done, and to correct the broken system in which we are all operating,\u201d Rep. Kelly Cassidy, D-Chicago, said in a statement last week. \u201cTo date, that has not been the spirit of his response. Instead, we have heard a series of excuses, victim blaming, and a failure to publicly acknowledge shortcomings. That has been disappointing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, the chair of the House Democratic Women\u2019s Caucus, said in a statement that accountability must go beyond Benton.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cQuestions still remain about how these allegations were addressed, and legislators and the public deserve a complete and transparent explanation from those involved,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Welch said he plans to \u201ccontinue to serve at the pleasure of the caucus.\u201d New elections for speaker at typically held in January when a new General Assembly is sworn in.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/capitolnewsillinois.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Capitol News Illinois<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p> by Ben Szalinski, Capitol News Illinois Speaker Emanuel &#8220;Chris&#8221; Welch on the House floor ahead of the Chamber&#8217;s adjournment on June 1, 2026 (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":"","_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>&#039;I&#039;m Embarrassed by It&#039;: Speaker Welch Apologizes for Interactions With Former Staffer - Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader, 979XFM and KJ Country 102.3<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Effingham&#039;s News and Sports Leader\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thexradio.com\/news\/local-news\/43704-im-embarrassed-by-it-speaker-welch-apologizes-for-interactions-with-former-staffer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"&#039;I&#039;m Embarrassed by It&#039;: Speaker Welch Apologizes for Interactions With Former Staffer - 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