Gov. JB Pritzker said on Wednesday, July 22 that House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch has “a responsibility to be utterly and completely transparent” about his handling of sexual harassment allegations made against ex-Rep. Harry Benton, D-Plainfield. But the governor sidestepped when asked if he still had confidence in Welch’s leadership, saying that “this is a matter for the House to deal with itself.”
“Now, the speaker has a responsibility to be utterly and completely transparent about the situation, to make sure that he is letting the public know, as well as, in particular, his members, know exactly what happened, and to the extent that he made mistakes, to own up to those mistakes,” Pritzker said.
It was the governor’s first media availability since a bombshell Chicago Tribune report published last week revealed that Welch’s office knew for years about sexual harassment allegations made against Benton, who resigned earlier this month…