Representatives of Homewood and Flossmoor believe a new Speaker of the House in Springfield offers a chance for the General Assembly to move in a different direction.
State Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Hillside) was elected Wednesday to succeed Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) as speaker of the Illinois House. He’ll be the first African American to serve in the role in state history.
Madigan has been speaker since 1983. He suspended his bid for another term after falling short of the necessary votes on Sunday. Welch was nominated Monday by Rep. Maurice West (D-Rockford).
Rep. Anthony DeLuca (D-Chicago Heights) called Welch a friend. The two sit near each other in the front row during session and sometimes socialize together, DeLuca said.
DeLuca represents the 80th district, which includes the southern portion of Homewood.
“I believe this is a change in direction and a new style of leadership, changes with the way Springfield operates,” DeLuca said. “We believe that Chris, my friend, is going to lead us in that direction.”
Rep. Debbie Meyers-Martin, who represents the 38th district including some of Flossmoor, said she also knows Welch well. Both are members of the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus. She said Welch has been a mentor, of sorts, since she was first elected in 2019.
“He has provided to me a wealth of his knowledge and the benefit of his experience in the general assembly,” Meyers-Martin said in an email to the Chronicle. “I believe that Speaker Welch has the perfect demeanor to be successful in working with the entire membership of representatives, both Democratic and Republican. He is fair, open-minded, resourceful and most of all, genuine in his quest to work for the best interests of the people in the State of Illinois.”
Will Davis (D-Hazel Crest) did not respond to requests for comment for this story. Davis is also a member of the ILBC, which released a statement Wednesday supporting Welch.
After his election to succeed the controversial Madigan, Welch addressed the House and urged unity.
“I think there are going to be improvements on the way the house functions and operates, the way we deal with legislation and schedules, those types of issues. In the speaker’s remarks yesterday, he made it clear that he has a willingness to work together,” DeLuca said. “We have to tackle some incredibly complicated and difficult issues in the near future. Although Democrats have a supermajority, it’s better that we work these issues out together.”
The choice has received some criticism based on incidents in 2002 and 2012 in which Welch was accused of domestic violence and sexual harassment. The Chicago Tribune reports that Welch denied details of one incident and did not comment on another.