Arlington Heights’ Canty among names floated for new Illinois House speaker
In deciding to give up his powerful gavel early next year, Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch became the second consecutive House leader driven from the speakership by a movement of women lawmakers angered over the mishandling of sexual harassment.
Now, with women anticipated to make up more than half the expected 85-member Democratic caucus that will choose a new leader when the House is sworn into office in January, there is the potential they could elect the state’s first woman House speaker.
To be sure, the defections that led Welch, a Hillside Democrat, not to seek a fourth term as speaker spanned myriad complaints about his leadership style and were not limited to women legislators.
But as with longtime Speaker Michael Madigan, whom Welch replaced in 2021, women started the push. Madigan’s downfall began with women angered by his handling of #MeToo incidents involving his campaign and government staff in 2017 and 2018. He is now in federal prison after a corruption conviction.
The catalyst for Welch’s demotion was the reaction of women legislators to a Tribune investigation published in July. It found that Welch’s office knew of a young staffer’s sexual harassment allegations against then-state Rep. Harry Benton nearly three years before Welch disciplined him earlier this year, and acted only when other women complained. Despite knowing of the complaint since April 2023, Welch steered $1.4 million from political committees he controlled into Benton’s successful 2024 reelection campaign.
Benton resigned from the House in July amid a legislative inspector general’s investigation that later found he had violated state sexual harassment law. But the Benton case revealed that the same toxic climate of harassment that existed under Madigan had persisted under Welch, with politics taking priority over compassion for victims.
Male lawmakers once commonly referred to legislative sessions in Springfield as “going to camp,” away from family and hometown friends. In pushing Welch out, an apparent majority of the incoming Democratic caucus is intent on putting out the campfire.
“We have a tremendous opportunity right now to look forward rather than backward. The real question for us as legislators is who is the best amongst us to lead?” asked Democratic state Rep. Tracy Katz Muhl of Northbrook. “And this is a moment where I am thinking about all of the talented legislators in our caucus, especially the senior legislators, especially the women, who have mentored new legislators, who have taught us how to write and negotiate better laws, and to think about the kind of legislature we could be with someone in charge with a vision that reflects and expands all of the goals of the caucus for the state of Illinois.”
Several names have already been floated to succeed Welch, the state’s first Black speaker.
They include: Chicago Democratic Reps. Ann Williams, a former assistant Illinois attorney general in her eighth term, and Eva-Dina Delgado, a third-term lawmaker and attorney whose civic work includes working in communications for the Chicago Transit Authority; Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth of Peoria, who has served 17 years and has a background in education and social services; and Rep. Mary Beth Canty of Arlington Heights, a two-term lawmaker and insurance coverage and construction liability attorney who chairs the House Democratic Women’s Caucus.
While no woman has ever been elected House speaker, two women have led minority Republican caucuses. Christine Radogno of Lemont became the first woman in Illinois to lead a legislative caucus when she led the state Senate Republicans from 2009 to 2017. Tony McCombie of Savanna currently leads House Republicans, a position she has held since 2023.
The potential successors aren’t all women. Also being mentioned are state Rep. Jay Hoffman, a veteran downstate lawmaker who has served in the House since 1991, except for a brief break in 1997; and Rep. Kam Buckner of Chicago, an attorney and sports management consultant who has been a key legislative negotiator on major issues since joining the legislature in 2019.
Williams, Delgado, Gordon-Booth, Hoffman and Buckner are all members of Welch’s current leadership team.
Following the Tribune’s investigation, Welch’s fate as speaker was on shaky ground, and many female lawmakers were dissatisfied with his subsequent explanations of how he handled the Benton issue in an effort to keep his post. His explanations also ran counter to what the ex-staffer told the Tribune. When Welch said he considered the Benton and ex-staffer matter a “he said, she said” issue, it proved particularly irksome to many.
“That was him not taking accountability for the actions that he could have prevented from Harry Benton by excommunicating him from the caucus at that point in time because there were (other) members who got excommunicated from our caucus over the time that Speaker Welch has been here,” said Democratic state Rep. Anne Stava of Naperville, citing actions Welch took to expel other lawmakers from the Democratic caucus and strip them of committee assignments and staff. “The fact that sexual harassment of someone didn’t rise to that occasion was a real problem for me.”
The Tribune investigation also revealed that Welch had interacted with the former Benton staffer on social media, including responding to images of her with heart-eye emojis. He had also asked her over the encrypted messaging app Signal to meet in the bar area of a suburban restaurant. The woman once interned in Welch’s office. The former staffer told the Tribune the emoji responses made her feel “uncomfortable.” Welch later publicly apologized.
Rank-and-file lawmakers had not been expected to challenge Welch’s leadership until after Tuesday’s election because of the millions of dollars in campaign cash he controlled to distribute to current and prospective members — a cudgel both he and Madigan employed to ensure loyalty.
That ended Wednesday night when 26 lawmakers, including Canty, as well as Delgado and three other members of Welch’s leadership team, issued a statement calling for a “robust race for a new Speaker of the House.”
By Thursday afternoon, sources said as many as 20 additional lawmakers said they would not support Welch for reelection to another term as speaker. And by Thursday evening, Welch announced he would not seek reelection as the chamber’s leader but would remain a state lawmaker. His announcement did not mention how he handled the Benton issue.
After Welch’s decision, four legislators who led the effort behind the no-confidence statement — Reps. Kelly Cassidy of Chicago, Larry Walsh of Elwood, Canty and Katz Muhl — told the outgoing speaker not to try to influence the choice for his successor.
“Because the Speaker made his announcement today, he has rightly afforded us plenty of time to ensure the process for choosing a new speaker is deliberate and intentional,” the statement from the four lawmakers on Thursday said. “We must ensure our next speaker is able to take the time necessary to earn the support of our caucus members, without interference or a finger on the scale from the current Speaker’s operation.”
On Friday, when asked if the next speaker should be a woman, Gov. JB Pritzker said, “That’s going to be up to the members,” before saying the House needed to improve its process for handling sexual harassment allegations.
Welch’s fall comes at an important time for the legislature. Lawmakers are scheduled to return to Springfield on Nov. 17 for the fall veto session with several major issues pending. It’s unclear how Welch’s lame-duck status and the campaign to replace him could affect action on matters such as economic assistance for a new Chicago Bears stadium as the team considers sites in Illinois but also a plan for a new home in Hammond, Indiana.
On Wednesday, Bears President and CEO Kevin Warren, Bears Chairman George McCaskey and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell met with Deputy Gov. Andy Manar, Buckner and other legislative representatives, sources said.
In addition, the team issued a statement saying it was continuing to work with Indiana officials “to advance our stadium development plans in Hammond.”
Buckner is the lead House Democratic negotiator on the stadium issue. Canty’s district includes the 326-acre site of the former Arlington International Racecourse, which the Bears purchased for a potential stadium and entertainment district.
Pritzker said Welch’s decision doesn’t affect the Bears stadium negotiations or any other priorities in the upcoming veto session.
“We’re on track. We’ve got leaders, as you know, other than the speaker involved in the House of Representatives as well as in the Senate,” the governor said at an unrelated news conference in Hyde Park. “So things are moving apace.”
Dissatisfied lawmakers cited issues beyond the Benton matter, including chaotic scheduling, extravagant fundraisers featuring provocatively dressed entertainers and a rule requiring that bills have the votes of 60 Democrats to be brought to the floor for consideration.
Katz Muhl said she did not anticipate the legislative work in the veto session to be sidetracked by the contest for House speaker.
“We’re all professional legislators. Getting our work done is our No. 1 priority, and setting the stage to have a healthy conversation about our next speaker, and what she could do to lead us forward is an important part of what would happen in this window in any year and in any veto session,” Katz Muhl said, using the feminine personal pronoun for the next leader. “There are many ways in which this really is a meaningful moment for women to lead.”
Canty noted the size of the incoming House Democratic Women’s Caucus and said that, as its chair, “I hope that we see these candidates (for speaker) put themselves forward. I hope we see multiple candidates put themselves forward, and I hope that some of those candidates are women.”
Canty did not rule out making a bid for the top House post.
“I do think it’s time that we consider women leadership and we have a ton of, like I said, great women, talented women in the General Assembly. And I hope we see a lot of them throwing their hat into the ring,” she said.
rpearson@chicagotribune.com
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
Tribune reporters Olivia Olander and Bob McCoppin contributed.