Welch skips Illinois State Fair, where Democrats focus on Trump instead of harassment scandal

SPRINGFIELD — Ethics concerns in the Illinois House took a back seat to bashing President Donald Trump Wednesday for Democrats at the Illinois State Fair, where the supermajority party launched its sprint to November’s general election with familiar critiques of Republicans — and without embattled Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch in attendance.

Welch sat out Governor’s Day festivities in the capital after Springfield’s latest sexual harassment scandal, which has raised questions about the speaker’s handling of misconduct allegations against disgraced former state Rep. Harry Benton, who resigned last month in the face of complaints from three women.

The speaker typically holds court with the media alongside the state’s other top Democratic power players at the fair, where the late summer scents of fried food and farm animals signal the home stretch of campaign season.

But after attending a series of Springfield fundraisers Tuesday night, Welch headed home for his daughter’s first day of school, according to a spokesperson.

That left members of his caucus to field questions about whether Welch should have directed $1.4 million to Benton’s 2024 reelection campaign, when the speaker knew of a complaint well before the one that led to the Plainfield Democrat’s ouster.

“I think that it has played out, and he did what he can,” Illinois Democratic Party Chair Lisa Hernandez told the Sun-Times. “I just see that he’s still doing all he can to put processes in place so this never happens.”

Hernandez, the influential Cicero representative who serves as deputy majority leader of Welch’s super-majority caucus, called it “a lesson learned, that you must continue, no matter what, every year … looking at your policies in place — that whether you refine them, or do a little extra, we must always be on top of it. So I think the work is being done.”

During an apology tour with select media outlets earlier this month, Welch said he regretted supporting Benton’s reelection but maintained he was hamstrung because the victim did not want to file a formal complaint.

Welch — who also apologized for sending heart-eye emojis in social media messages to a complainant and inviting her to a bar via an encrypted messaging app — announced a new House working group tasked with developing remedies for Springfield’s persistent culture of sexual harassment.

Three members initially slated to serve on the group have turned it down, including Chicago state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, who dismissed it as paying “lip service” to a serious issue.

Hernandez said she’s “very confident that they’re going to have something in place that we’re all going to be comfortable with. But [that’s] not to say that we don’t keep on doing better.”

Gov. JB Pritzker urged the group to work quickly.

“There are models for sexual harassment policies across the nation, in legislatures, in large corporations, in nonprofit organizations,” Pritzker said after a fairgrounds rally. “It seems like it would be relatively easy to look at a few of those models, have a few people get together around that, and make a decision about which one works best for the state of Illinois.

“We’ve got to make sure people know what the reporting mechanisms are and that it is dealt with in a timely fashion. I don’t think those things were happening under the system that the House of Representatives had before, and I know the speaker has admitted that and now is looking for a solution.”

Republicans, who get their day at the fair Thursday, tried to make hay of the scandal with placards posted around the grounds declaring that Welch “covered up sexual harassment,” and, nodding at his emojis, that he’s “been spreading the love.”

Trump jabs and mayoral jockeying

Democrats, meanwhile, kept the focus on “everything we do to fight for families that Trump has too often tossed aside,” as a fiery U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth told more than 2,000 attendees at the annual Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association Brunch.

“I cannot wait to get back into the majority because I am f- – – – – – tired of fixing things that he broke,” Duckworth said to raucous applause.

Democrats also feted retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, who said he’s “tried to return the favor, to make sure I look back on that ladder and help somebody up behind me. That is the future of our party, and we’ve got to remember it at every possible level.”

Chicago mayoral politics made their way downstate, too, as outgoing state comptroller and fifth-floor City Hall hopeful Susana Mendoza told brunch attendees that “you deserve a candidate who’s going to be all-in for the position that they’re asking you to support them for, the statewide position.”

That was a not-so-subtle jab at Alexi Giannoulias, who’s running for a second term at the state level while mounting his own campaign for mayor.

Giannoulias shrugged it off while rubbing shoulders at the fair.

“No one’s talking about that. I’m proud of the work that we’ve done in the secretary of state’s office. It is awkward coming from her,” he said. “You don’t quit the job you’re in while you’re interviewing for the next one.”