Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch raised some eyebrows after he attended a meeting in suburban River Forest to talk about the proposed “O’Hare Flyer” project, which would run express commuter trains back and forth from downtown Chicago to O’Hare Airport. Welch told attendees he could prevent two state agency budgets from moving forward if he […]
Chris Welch
Posted inRich Miller
Welch should apologize to Benton’s former staffer
Last month, House Speaker Chris Welch told WGN political editor Tahman Bradley during an interview, “I’m going to apologize for making her feel uncomfortable.” The woman he was referring to was former Rep. Harry Benton’s district office worker who quit after she said she was sexually harassed. The woman also told the Chicago Tribune that […]
Posted inRich Miller
Democrats differ over campaign funding flap
My associate Isabel Miller and I told subscribers earlier this month that Democrats for the Illinois House had been suddenly cut off from the Democratic Party of Illinois’ lucrative postage discount program, which can save as much as a third to a half of campaign postage costs. Afterward, an extraordinary interaction occurred between the executive […]
Posted inRich Miller
Another harassment allegation
Yet another sexual harassment allegation has been made against an Illinois House Democrat. But this time, the House speaker’s operation is fully supporting its incumbent. Rep. Murri Briel’s former deputy chief of staff Laura Jackson claims that, among other things, Briel (D-Ottawa) sexually harassed her, supplied “unlimited” amounts of Adderall to her and the campaign […]
Posted inRich Miller
10 years at the top not guaranteed
After Michael J. Madigan’s 36 years as Illinois House speaker, a 10-year term limit on current and future speakers doesn’t seem like a lot of time in the big chair. Except it is. Nobody prior to Madigan had ever served 10 years as speaker in this state going back to when Illinois became a state […]
Posted inRich Miller
Welch discusses Benton investigation
House Speaker Chris Welch sat down for interviews with some selected reporters last week. He told most of them that his office had conducted an “informal investigation” into sexual harassment allegations against former Rep. Harry Benton (D-Plainfield) in 2023. Welch’s staff has not responded to our request for an interview (same goes for the Chicago […]
Posted inRich Miller
Welch pledges to seek more funds for Chicago schools
House Speaker Chris Welch promised the Chicago Teachers Union last week that he will “lead” the effort to send more state money to Chicago Public Schools during the upcoming fall veto session. Welch made his pledge in a CTU-posted video yesterday while holding a union poster blasting proposed CPS layoffs and budget cuts. “The state […]
Posted inRich Miller
The House and harassment complaints
By now you’ve probably read at least something about the scandals surrounding former state Rep. Harry Benton (D-Plainfield). In a nutshell, a young female district office staffer alleged Benton sexually harassed her in 2023. Two of House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s top staffers asked her to file a complaint with the legislative inspector general, but […]
Posted inRich Miller
Politicians and due process
Rep. Luis Arroyo (D-Chicago) was arrested by the FBI on Oct. 28, 2019, for attempting to bribe a state senator. House Speaker Michael Madigan, who was under investigation himself, called on Arroyo to resign that same day. The next day, Rep. Chris Welch (D-Hillside) was one of three House Democrats who signed a petition to […]
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Gov. JB Pritzker suspends tax breaks for data centers, urges more discussion
CHICAGO — In a surprise move, Gov. JB Pritzker announced Friday that he is putting a pause on all new state tax incentives for data centers and calling on lawmakers to pass new data center reforms during the fall veto session. The governor has directed the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity to pause […]
