By this time next week, we may finally know details of the allegations that led to this month's resignation of Plainfield state House Democrat Harry Benton, now that members of the Legislative Ethics Commission have voted to release the results of their investigation into his contact with a lobbyist.
But separate allegations from a former staff member in Benton's office have made their way into the public sphere, and they're sparking fresh outrage ... not just against Benton but also House Democratic leadership, barely five years after a similar harassment scandal helped force powerful Speaker Michael Madigan out of office.
"I would want to wring this person's neck if they did this to my daughter," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, telling reporters in Chicago this week he was "outraged" at the allegations against the former two-term representative and ex-Plainfield village trustee, who reportedly made harassing and unwanted comments toward the staff member. "People (who hold public office) should be held to a very high standard."
Benton's resignation July 3 came five months after House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Hillside) removed him from the Democratic caucus and stripped him of all committee assignments. But the Speaker's action back in February came nearly three years after the former Benton staff member first complained about his conduct to Welch's office. The speaker has said his office investigated the allegations appropriately, and claims Benton's accuser did not want to file a formal complaint at the time.
But reports have raised questions about Speaker Welch's decision to interact publicly on social media with the former staff member, and he has reportedly admitted those posts and reactions were errors in judgment.
"The speaker has a responsibility to be utterly and completely transparent about the situation," Gov. Pritzker said this week, noting that he should detail not just allegations against Benton and the actions his office has taken, but also any mistakes Speaker Welch may have made. "We need to know all of the information."
The questions about the Speaker's handling of misconduct allegations take on added irony given the turn of events that led to his ascension in Springfield: accusations from a former Democratic operative that a top aide to then-Speaker Madigan repeatedly sexually harassed her and that Madigan and his chief of staff did nothing about them. Reports about those allegations caused others to come forward with claims of similar behavior, and Madigan was eventually forced to abandon the speaker's post in 2021.
As for the Benton case, statute-of-limitations laws mean the report set to be released by the Legislative Ethics Commission will only detail allegations made by a lobbyist several months ago. But it's believed the report may also include evidence of a pattern of harassment by the ex-lawmaker, though state law also allows him to review the report before it's released.
Regardless of the report's final public contents, the timing couldn't be worse for the Speaker, whose handling of Benton's case appears to be raising new questions about his ability to lead the Democratic caucus just as lawmakers are running for re-election. For his part, the governor did not directly answer a question about whether he had confidence in Speaker Welch, only saying that questions about his future would be "up to the House." But summertime scandals have a way of becoming vague recollections by fall, and it remains to be seen whether voters will remember any outrage by November.
"I would want to wring this person's neck if they did this to my daughter," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, telling reporters in Chicago this week he was "outraged" at the allegations against the former two-term representative.
"I would want to wring this person's neck if they did this to my daughter," Gov. J.B. Pritzker said, telling reporters in Chicago this week he was "outraged" at the allegations against the former two-term representative.
