The political landscape in Illinois has been rocked by a baffling saga involving Representative Harry Benton. His abrupt removal from all legislative committees and caucus activities by House Speaker Chris Welch back in February left many wondering about the undisclosed reasons behind such a significant decision.
Speculation grew after Welch decided to oust Benton, a Democrat hailing from Plainfield, from his duties without any public explanation. The incident created ripples, stirring questions that seemed to go unanswered for months.
The puzzle began taking shape with the release of a report from the Legislative Inspector General, which unveiled shocking allegations of unethical conduct by Benton. Though the report served as grounds for Welch to threaten Benton with expulsion, official information detailing Benton’s actions remained scant. However, fresh disclosures from the victims, as reported by the Chicago Tribune, are now starting to shed light on the situation.
Two individuals alleging misconduct by Benton have stepped forward to share their experiences publicly for the first time. One recounts an encounter from 2023, while the other reports an incident earlier this year. These stories, circulating among Springfield insiders for a while, prompted WCIA to dig deeper into Benton’s communications. Five months ago, WCIA filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to obtain Benton’s email and text records from state-provided devices. Unfortunately, the request was denied on the grounds that the communications were labeled as “personal correspondence” and therefore exempt from FOIA disclosure.
The victims, though, are telling a much different story. They’re also concerned with how the Speaker of the House handled it all.
“The reporting today just really kind of gives us more questions about what’s been going on, especially how long did Speaker Welch know about it?” said House Minority Leader Tony McCombie.
According to statements made by the victims — who were not named in the Tribune’s article –Welch first became aware of Benton’s problems in 2023 when a 22-year-old staffer reported harassment, much of which was sexual in nature, to Welch’s office.
But the Chicago Tribune’s investigation found Welch didn’t even interview Benton about the harassment until three months after it was reported, and ultimately choose not to discipline him. Welch would go on to financially support Benton in his 2024 re-election campaign. It wasn’t until a second victim reported Benton in February of this year that Welch took action.
“He invested millions of dollars to get him re-elected, even after knowing about this conduct to put him back into place. So he probably… did he not want that to come out? Obviously not,” said McCombie
Another issue brought to light in that report: some of Welch’s own behavior.
The victim from 2023 showed the Chicago Tribune comments Welch had made on her personal Instagram on posts featuring her in different outfits. Those included emojis of a face with hearts for eyes, and one of a face drooling. It’s something the victim said made her uncomfortable.
When asked if the report on Benton’s behavior would ever be made public, Welch and Governor JB Pritzker responded they didn’t believe the General Assembly could publicize the report.
McCombie suspects Welch’s involvement in the case played a role in that decision.
“Maybe that’s another reason things weren’t brought to light, because you don’t want to be have a light shine on you,” said McCombie.
WCIA reached out to Welch’s office for comment both in February, and again on Friday. We have not received a response back. In comments to the Tribune, Welch’s office maintains he followed the proper procedures when handling the Benton accusations.
WCIA also asked the Governor’s office for comment on the Tribune’s report. In a statement, a spokesperson said Pritzker “believes it is in the best interest of the public to have the Benton report released.”