CHICAGO — Mayor Brandon Johnson praised on Tuesday the “maturation” of Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, whose handling of sexual harassment issues involving former state Rep. Harry Benton has made him politically vulnerable in leading the supermajority House Democratic caucus in Springfield.

“Watching his maturation has been just a remarkable testament to what’s possible in this country, to serve as first Black Speaker of the House,” Johnson said of Welch when pressed by reporters about the controversy during a news conference. “I trust that the speaker is going to do what’s right for his constituents and the state of Illinois.”

Johnson’s comments came just days after Welch told the mayor’s allies at the Chicago Teachers Union that he would “lead” efforts to provide additional state funding to avoid layoffs and cuts at the Chicago Public Schools — a politically dubious pledge that was also seen as the speaker’s attempt to shore up support from a highly political progressive group amid criticism over the Benton case.

Asked if he still supports Welch as speaker and believes Welch has sufficiently explained how he handled Benton’s conduct, the mayor instead pointed to his long relationship with the speaker.

Johnson said he was grateful the allegations were brought to light and said all elected leaders must be held to “a righteous standard” in their work. But he did not call for Welch to step down.

“In terms of him in his particular position, that’s a decision that I trust that he will make in the best interest for the people that he represents,” Johnson said.

The comments by the mayor also underscore the longstanding role of race in city and state politics. Some of the 22 members of the House Black Caucus have rallied behind Welch in the wake of the revelations, but several of the 47-member House Democratic Women’s Caucus have expressed criticism or reservations over the speaker’s handling of the Benton issue.

Welch has been working to shore up support for his speakership even before the July 31 public release of a legislative inspector general’s report that found Benton’s sexual harassment violated state law. Benton resigned his House seat July 3 and withdrew as a candidate for reelection this fall.

The report outlined the findings of a months-long Tribune investigation into Benton’s conduct against a young female staffer who brought a lengthy list of allegations of harassment to Welch’s office three years ago. The staffer told the Tribune that nothing was done to discipline Benton, and Welch went on a year later to put $1.4 million into helping the Plainfield lawmaker win reelection.

It wasn’t until February of this year that Welch took disciplinary action against Benton. The speaker removed Benton from the Democratic caucus after a lobbyist complained of being harassed and Welch prepared a formal complaint to the legislative inspector general. During that process, another legislative staffer also complained of Benton’s actions.

Critics have said if Welch had acted on the initial complaint, it could have prevented the two other women from later becoming victims. Welch has maintained the report vindicated the actions his office took, though the legislative inspector general made no judgment on the speaker’s handling of the issue. Welch has said the former Benton staffer did not want to “pursue” action against the Plainfield Democrat, but she told the Tribune that she did not want to pursue a complaint specifically to the legislative inspector general and thought Welch’s office could handle it internally.

The Tribune also disclosed that Welch had a social media relationship with the former Benton staffer, who once interned in the speaker’s office. Welch’s use of heart-eye emojis in response to pictures she posted on Instagram made her feel uncomfortable, the former staffer said.

At a separate news conference on Tuesday, Gov. JB Pritzker, the de facto leader of the Democratic Party in Illinois, continued his call for Welch to publicly address his handling of the Benton complaints, saying “I would like to see and know more.”

Noting that Welch has been speaking to various House Democratic caucus members, Pritzker said he was “unaware exactly what questions or answers were given,” but “whatever those answers are” should be transparent to the public.

Pritzker said he has not spoken to Welch and did not say whether he had confidence in the speaker’s leadership or whether Welch should step down, saying that was up to the members of the House.

“It’s important to me that we remember that victims of sexual harassment ought to have a process that is clear and that investigates and holds accountable people who are guilty of perpetrating these acts,” Pritzker said.

“What I want to know is how are we going to fix the system, because it shouldn’t be, in my view, months or years before we have employees who work for state representatives or state senate members who don’t know exactly what the procedure is, exactly who to report to, and how to get justice,” he said.

Welch has not made himself publicly available to answer questions since the Tribune’s investigation was published more than two weeks ago.

Also attending the news conference with Pritzker was Alexi Giannoulias, the Illinois secretary of state and recently announced Chicago mayoral candidate. Giannoulias declined to answer whether he’d like to see Welch step down.

—Tribune reporters Olivia Olander and Jake Sheridan contributed.

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