Springfield, Illinois: House Speaker Welch Will Not Seek Another Term as Speaker After 26 Democrats Call for New Leadership

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel Chris Welch will not seek another term as speaker, after 26 incumbent and incoming House Democrats said the supermajority caucus needs new leadership. Welch announced the decision in a statement on Thursday afternoon, Nov 5, in Springfield. He is not leaving the House. He will step aside as speaker and serve as a regular member of the caucus while a new speaker takes his place.

Welch has held the gavel since January 2021. He was the first Black speaker in Illinois history. "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 his statement. He added: "With that, I look forward to joining the caucus as we usher in our next leader and take our party further into the future."

The count against him

The 26 signatories released their statement late on Wednesday, Nov 4. House Democrats will likely have 84 or 85 members in the next General Assembly, and 60 votes are needed to elect a speaker. The 26 holdouts are enough to deny Welch the gavel if they stick together and he receives no Republican support. Rep. Mary Beth Canty put the count plainly: "I don't see a path to 60."

Four members of Welch's own leadership team signed the statement: Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado of Chicago, Rep. Lisa Hernandez of Cicero, Rep. Bob Morgan of Deerfield and Rep. Katie Stuart of Edwardsville. Hernandez also chairs the Democratic Party of Illinois. FOX 32 Chicago reported the same announcement on Thursday and said Welch appeared unlikely to receive an endorsement from Gov. JB Pritzker.

The Benton case behind the break

Welch's decision follows months of criticism over his handling of sexual harassment allegations against former Rep. Harry Benton, a Democrat from Plainfield, who resigned in July. A legislative inspector general report published in July said Welch's office knew about an allegation against Benton as early as April 2023 but did not address it with Benton until July that year. The report also put a price on the politics around the seat: the House Democratic campaign arm that Welch controls spent 1.4 million dollars supporting Benton's 2024 re-election bid. FOX 32 reported that concerns among Democrats centered on his handling of the Benton allegations and on workplace culture complaints.

What happens next

The vote for speaker is in January, at the start of the new General Assembly. Caucuses typically hold internal leadership elections during the veto session, which is scheduled for Nov 17 to 19 and Dec 1 to 3. Welch will stay in the chamber as a regular caucus member, and the race to replace him as speaker now starts with no named successor in the reports from Thursday.