Welch Closing In on Election as First Black Speaker of Illinois House
Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) confers with Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) on the makeshift House floor at the BoS Center in Springfield Tuesday. Welch is poised to become the first Black House Speaker in Illinois history. (Pool Photo/Justin Fowler)
Pending a last-minute implosion, House Democrats are expected to elect Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) as the first Black Speaker of the House in the state’s 202-year history.
Welch’s pending ascent would end the run of longtime Chicago powerbroker Michael Madigan, who ran the House, the Democratic Party of Illinois, and his southwest side organization with meticulous order. Madigan had been Speaker 36 of the past 38 years.
Welch fell short of the 60 necessary votes to be elected Speaker in a Democratic caucus Wednesday morning. Sources said Welch received 55 votes, up from 50 Tuesday night.
Rep. Mike Zalewski (D-Riverside) told media Wednesday he believed Welch and his two chief opponents, Rep. Jay Hoffman (D-Swansea) and Rep. Ann Williams (D-Chicago) had resolved their differences and expected Welch to receive a unanimous vote from the Democratic caucus when the 102nd General Assembly is sworn in at noon today.
Welch has been dogged over the past 24 hours of years-old accusations of domestic violence and sexual harassment. Zalewski said Welch responded to the accusations truthfully before the caucus.
