A report released Friday details a “pattern and practice of inappropriate sexual conduct” that former Rep. Harry Benton is accused of committing beginning in 2023 — conduct the speaker’s office was alerted to shortly after it began. 

The report by Legislative Inspector General (LIG) Mike McCuskey stems from a March 4, 2026 complaint from Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s (D-Hillside) office. McCuskey then underwent an investigation, completing nearly a dozen interviews.  

After the report was completed, Welch called for Benton’s resignation after receiving it. Benton resigned July 3 and later withdrew his name from the 2026 ballot.  

Benton represented the 97th House District, which includes all or parts of Plainfield, Oswego, Bolingbrook, Joliet, Aurora and Naperville.  

McCuskey’s report details a timeline of events that allegedly began shortly after Benton first took office in January 2023 and continued into 2025 and 2026.  

“Following my extensive investigation, I have concluded that Rep. Harry Benton during 2025 and 2026 engaged in inappropriate conduct which rises to the level of sexual harassment in violation of state law,” McCuskey said in the report.  

Benton’s first alleged victim did not file a formal complaint with the LIG, but the incident is still noted in the report as part of a pattern of conduct that McCuskey’s investigation concluded “began shortly after he took his initial sexual harassment training in early 2023 and has continued throughout his tenure in the General Assembly.”  

Welch’s office received an email in April 2023 from an employee at Benton’s district office detailing alleged verbal sexual harassment. That included the former representative telling the employee, "make sure you don't forget to wear something underneath that” in regard to the employee’s clothes and, "See, I'm doing a good service, I am keeping you off the pole with this job." 

Benton also allegedly attempted to stay with the employee at her friend's condo in Chicago.  

These alleged events took place in February 2023, and the employee resigned months later in June.  

The report says when interviewed about the allegations in May 2026, Benton denied them. 

Following the employee’s resignation, staff from the speaker’s office met over Zoom with Benton in July 2023, but the report does not detail what was discussed during the call or what the outcome was. Welch’s former Chief of Staff Tiffany Moy also encouraged the employee to file a report with the LIG in the same month, according to McCuskey. The employee did not do so.  

Welch later supported Benton’s 2024 reelection bid, including giving his campaign a $1.4 million donation from the Democrats for the Illinois House, the caucus’ campaign committee.  

The report includes two founded claims of sexual harassment alleged to have occurred in 2025 and 2026.  

In the first, Benton was accused of repeatedly touching a state employee’s back while at a bar following an event. The report says that another individual had to intervene and stand between Benton and the employee to get him to stop.  

Benton denied the allegation, but McCuskey says he found it to be credible.  

“Both leaning over someone and leaning in too close are considered sexual harassment when it is unwelcomed conduct,” the report says. “This late-night bar encounter with Rep. Benton touching her back caused the [complaintant] to feel Benton was acting creepy and caused her to pull away and require the assistance of an individual to step between her and Benton. This example of unwanted behavior is clearly taught in sexual harassment training and was ignored by Rep. Benton.”  

The complainant said in a statement to the LIG that she hopes her experience leads to “honest reflection on the culture change, the policy change and the personal change Springfield needs to attract and keep its brightest talent and to make it a place where the work that matters is the focus.” 

The second founded complaint involved a lobbyist who was at a bar with Benton and another state representative earlier this year. Benton allegedly told the lobbyist, “You know, I might be a 5, but I fuck like a 10. You want to get out of here and have some fun?” 

The lobbyist was “shocked and disgusted” by the comment and reportedly asked the other state lawmaker what he was going to do about it. The lawmaker allegedly told her, “What do you want me to do about it? He is always like this.”  

When interviewed by McCuskey, the lawmaker confirmed the incident but said he did not hear the full extent of Benton’s initial comment.  

Benton again denied the allegation to the LIG, saying, "I don't hit on lobbyists." 

“My veteran investigator who was present with me during the interview said, ‘I believe he lied,’” McCuskey wrote in the report. “I responded that I know he lied as well because I have interviewed all three individuals in person, and I believe the lobbyist and the bystander are truthful.”  

In a statement submitted to the LIG, the lobbyist said the report inaccurately depicted several details of the incident, saying that Benton did not say “you want to get out of here and have some fun?” after his initial comment but instead said, “I am not hitting on you, unless you are interested" and “let’s just say you are too hot to be a lobbyist.”  

She also said the details of her interactions with the other state lawmaker were inaccurate, saying she spoke to him the day after the incident in the bar and said he listened to the story, shared the lobbyists concerns and said it was not an isolated incident.  

McCuskey said in a statement that he stood by the accuracy of his report.  

The report also included several unfounded claims. Rep. Jeff Keicher (R-Sycamore), chair of the Legislative Ethics Committee (LEC), said these claims were unfounded because they either fell outside of LIG’s statute, were political in nature or were not related to the allegations of sexual harassment.  

“We agreed that the totality of those unfounded items add to the narcissistic approach and careless regard for office shown by former Representative Benton,” he said.  

These unfounded claims included Benton allegedly acting inappropriately at the Illinois State Fair; harassing and acting hostile toward a staffer of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, including an argument in which Benton allegedly said, “Chicago received too much school funding and did a poor job teaching students;” and allegedly showing indecent photos of a woman he was romantically involved with that the former representative had on his cellphone.  

McCuskey did not recommend disciplinary action be taken against Benton because “the proceeding in the House would be lengthy and require a Special Session.”  

Welch says report shows office acted responsibly, McCombie calls for his resignation 

Welch had called for the release of the LIG’s report, saying it would show his office took the proper actions after receiving the complaints about Benton. He said in a statement Friday that it “reaffirms confidence that our office acted responsibly.”  

The report includes very little details on the speaker’s office’s actions, beyond the 2023 Zoom meeting with Benton taking place and Moy subsequently telling the employee they could file a report with the LIG.  

Welch said he will pursue action to strengthen procedures in the House to improve safety for employees.  

“This report must represent more than an accounting of what happened,” he said. “It must serve as a catalyst for meaningful, structural change. If there are gaps in our policies, our laws or our workplace practices, then it is our duty to close them. The work has already begun. My office will work with all members of the House to explore creating a centralized human resources office to assist all members as employers and support their district office employees, and we will bring in an outside expert to review this case and make additional recommendations.”  

But House Minority Leader Tony McCombie (R-Savanna) said the report shows Welch’s office knew about the 2023 incident when it occurred and did not immediately act, which she said raises questions about the speaker’s leadership.  

“After the fall of Speaker Michael Madigan, Illinoisans were promised a new day,” McCombie said. “Instead, they've seen more of the same: delayed action, less transparency, and politics put ahead of people. Leadership matters. When you know about a serious allegation involving someone in your caucus or on your team, you have a responsibility as a leader, especially to act. Had the speaker acted appropriately in 2023, we would not be here today.”  

McCombie called on Welch to resign as speaker and asked Gov. JB Pritzker to join her in doing so.  

During an unrelated press conference Friday — before the report was released — the governor said Welch’s handling of the matter and position is an issue for the members of the House to manage.  

“It's not up to me to make the decision about who the speaker of the House is,” Pritzker said. “I didn't opine about it when he ran for it in the first place. I'm not going to opine about it now.”  

The governor echoed this sentiment in a statement after the report's release.  

“No one should fear any form of harassment in the workplace, and everyone deserves access to resources and recourse if they are faced with inappropriate behavior,” a spokesperson said. “The House now has a responsibility to resolve any unanswered questions, strengthen its harassment prevention and reporting procedures and hold itself to the high standard the people of Illinois expect and deserve.” 

In a statement, Rep. Kelly Cassidy (D-Chicago) fell short of calling for Welch’s resignation but said the speaker must “demonstrate a sincere desire to repair the harm he has done, and to correct the broken system in which we are all operating.” 

“To date, that has not been the spirit of his response,” Kelly said. “Instead, we have heard a series of excuses, victim blaming and a failure to publicly acknowledge shortcomings. That has been disappointing. Efforts to make changes to the laws and procedures around inappropriate behavior in the Capitol must center the experiences of victims. Unless we examine these policies through the eyes and experiences of the people we’re intending to protect, we will continue to fall short.”  

She also addressed reporting by the Tribune that accused Welch of also having inappropriate interactions with Benton’s former staffer — who also was a former intern in the speaker’s office — after she approached him with the complaint, including responding with heart-eye emojis to images of her and requesting she meet him at a bar.  

“The woman came to the speaker for advice, and he told her to move their communication to an encrypted app, where he asked her to meet him at a bar,” Cassidy said. “Even if the speaker did not intend to send flirtatious signals, or to generate pressure on a young woman he had already indicated he found attractive, the effect of his behavior was to make her uncomfortable.”  

Cassidy said the speaker must apologize for his alleged conduct.  

“I encourage the speaker to acknowledge that publicly and apologize to the woman for his conduct,” she said. “If we are going to be able to move forward in earnest, that is a necessary step. This young woman, like so many before her, chose to leave our workplace entirely. We should all view that as a loss not just for her — but for all of us who want what’s best for our state.”  

Rep. Mary Beth Canty (D-Chicago), chair of the Illinois House Democratic Women’s Caucus, said in a statement that she was "concerned about the culture of harassment that has persisted in Illinois state government" and that questions remained about how the allegations were addressed. She said lawmakers and the public deserve a "complete and transparent explanation from those involved." 

"Individual accountability is necessary, but it is not sufficient," she said. "The deeper failure here is structural, and it demands a structural response. The contemptible behavior of former Rep. Harry Benton was not an isolated failure. It was enabled by a system that too often prioritizes protecting the institution over protecting the people who work within it." 

She also called for action to be taken to improve how House leadership handles harassment. She said she believes the House "must make tangible progress during the upcoming veto session." 

Welch has served as speaker since 2021, when Madigan — the longest serving state House speaker in the country — failed to gather the support to remain in the role.  

The speaker’s term in the House’s top position expires when the current General Assembly ends in January. Lawmakers will elect the speaker after the new General Assembly is sworn into office.