SPRINGFIELD — House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch will not seek another term as the chamber’s leader after 26 incumbent and incoming House Democrats said the supermajority caucus “needs new leadership.”
Welch said in a statement on Nov. 5 that he will step aside and become a regular member of the caucus to allow for a new speaker to take his place. Welch listed a series of legislative victories for Democrats since he took the gavel in 2021 but said “our time in this space is finite.”
“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.
Welch was elected the state’s first African American speaker in January 2021 after former Speaker Mike Madigan stepped aside when 19 House Democrats announced they would no longer support him after other issues with sexual harassment in the House.
But even then, Welch first had to answer his own questions about past treatment of women, including domestic violence allegations and sexual harassment as a school board member in Proviso Township. Welch was able to satisfy skeptical Democrats and the time and was elected speaker.
Members seek change
Welch’s decision to give up the gavel comes following months of criticism over his handling of sexual harassment allegations made against former Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield, as well as a series of critiques over his leadership style and processes during his three terms presiding over the House.
The coalition of current and incoming House Democrats said there’s a variety of reasons they believe now is the right time for leadership change despite strong results in Tuesday’s election.
“We represent a broad spectrum of our caucus, and each have come to this decision for our own reasons,” they wrote in a statement released late Wednesday. “We look forward to a robust race for a new Speaker of the House.
House Democrats will likely have 84 or 85 members in the next General Assembly after a strong showing in the Nov. 3 elections. This means that even if no one else in the caucus joins their effort, the 26 holdouts are enough to deny Welch the 60 votes needed to retain the gavel, so long as they stick together and he receives no Republican support.
Multiple sources tell Capitol News Illinois that opposition to Welch among his caucus extends beyond the members who signed the statement.
“I don’t see a path to 60,” Rep. Mary Beth Canty, D-Arlington Heights, one of the signatories, told Capitol News Illinois. “And if it’s true that we’re going to end up with potentially like 85 members, even if you get to 60, I think that’s a problem if you’ve got 25 folks that are going to vote no or vote present, right? That doesn’t lend itself to the ability to have a strong negotiating hand when it comes time for things like the budget and major pieces of legislation.”
The signatories included members of all the regional, racial/ethnic and ideological House Democratic subcaucuses, though nearly three-quarters of the breakaway group are women and a majority are suburban members.
Perhaps most notably, four members of Welch’s handpicked leadership team — Reps. Eva-Dina Delgado of Chicago, Lisa Hernandez of Cicero, Bob Morgan of Deerfield and Katie Stuart of Edwardsville — signed on. Hernandez also chairs the Democratic Party of Illinois.
Benton’s successor, Rep. Jessica Dixon Heitman of Plainfield, also signed the statement.
What comes next
While the vote for speaker isn’t until January, the legislative caucuses typically hold their internal leadership elections when they return to Springfield for veto session in November.
Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl, D-Northbrook, one of the signatories, told Capitol News Illinois that there were various reasons why each member signed, but now that they’ve reached the same conclusion, it’s time to turn to “the question of who amongst us is the best to lead.”
“We are so lucky to have such a depth of talent within our caucus,” Katz Muhl said. “There are experienced senior leaders amongst us, especially women, who have lifted up colleagues, who have stood up and protected staff and colleagues, who have mentored us on how to be better legislators. And I’m excited and inspired about the conversation that will happen now about who will lead this new big, beautiful, diverse statewide caucus.”
By Brenden Moore and Ben Szalinski
Capitol News Illinois is 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.
