IVCA Provides Updates for State Legislative Issues 08/05/2026
SPEAKER UNDER FIRE
The wake from why and how a former member of the Illinois General Assembly was ousted from the legislature is crashing into the offices of the House Speaker:
Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson both declined today to say whether House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch should remain in his leadership post as pressure mounts over the handling of sexual-harassment allegations against former state Rep. Harry Benton. A Legislative Inspector General’s report released last week found allegations against Benton were raised nearly two years before a formal investigation began, prompting questions about whether Welch fulfilled his responsibilities as speaker and whether he should continue in the role. […]
Pritzker stopped short of detailing what those reforms should look like but said victims of sexual harassment “ought to have process that is clear, and that investigates and holds accountable people who are guilty of perpetrating these acts.” Johnson also sidestepped questions about Welch’s future, saying he trusts the speaker will “do what’s right for his constituents in the state of Illinois.”
Benton’s replacement in the legislature is Rep. Jessica Dixon Heitman, the granddaughter of former U.S. Senator Alan J. Dixon.
Meanwhile the Illinois House is also considering how to handle the federal indictment of a colleague:
* Center Square | Indicted Ammons won’t seek delay of House investigation : One lawyer for the Carol Ammons, Mutaquee Akbar, previously told The Center Square the counsel was looking into delaying the scheduled House proceedings. […] Akbar told The Center Square on Tuesday they no longer intend to delay the House investigation. The team hadn’t decided if the lawmaker or her counsel would be present at committee hearings – a right of the representative under House rules.
RACE FOR MAYOR
* Block Club | The Chicago Mayor’s Race Is Heating Up: Several established political names have announced their candidacies for mayor, including outgoing Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza, current Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, North Side U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley and George Cardenas, former Chicago alderman and current Cook County Board of Review commissioner.