Embattled Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch bowed to cold political arithmetic Thursday evening and announced he will not seek the speakership in the next general assembly.
Welch’s decision came amidst a growing uprising against Welch’s questionable handling of House issues, and deepening dissatisfaction with his rigid management style, among other issues.
Over the past week there was a steadily growing drumbeat in Chicago media as more and more of Welch’s past behavior and more recent missteps were disclosed. With the 2026 general election concluded, 26 members of the Illinois House signed a letter Wednesday effectively announcing no confidence in Welch, who is a native of Proviso Township which includes Forest Park.
Welch came to notice in the near west suburbs when he ruled Proviso Township High Schools with an iron fist as its longtime school board president.
“Over the course of the last few months, we have grown increasingly convinced that the House Democratic Caucus needs new leadership,” the statement read. “We represent a broad spectrum of our caucus, and each have come to this decision for our own reasons. We look forward to a robust race for a new Speaker of the House.”
Several of the signatories of that letter are in leadership roles in the House, including Chicago Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado, and Deerfield Rep. Bob Morgan, both of whom are Assistant Majority Leaders.
Another signatory, State Rep. Elizabeth Hernandez of Cicero, is both House Deputy Democratic Leader and the chair of the Democratic Party of Illinois.
Earlier this year Hernandez contributed $30,000 to Welch’s winning campaign to be elected to the Democratic State Central Committee from the 7th Congressional district.
On Thursday afternoon, Wednesday Journal spoke with 44th District State Rep. Fred Crespo of Hoffman Estates. Welch stripped Crespo of his committee assignments and kicked him out of the Democratic caucus in May 2025 for publicly releasing an alternative to Welch’s budget proposal, which had bogged down in the legislature.
Crespo confirmed there were in fact more than 26 House members who wanted a change in leadership. Numerous media sources reported that Welch was attempting to mend fences and find a path to 60 votes. But at the end of business Thursday, his office released a statement announcing his decision to step down in January.
“I have worked tirelessly to serve this House Democratic Caucus. It is one that I love and deeply respect. I have always told the caucus that our time in this space is finite, but we are playing an infinite game. Diversity is our strength, but unity is our power. Together, we passed historic legislation on transit, cannabis and energy, and secured greater investments in education.
“We defended vulnerable seats and grew our majority in every election under my leadership, building a historic House Democratic majority. I am proud of this work, but I serve at the pleasure of the caucus, and I want our caucus to lead in unity and take on the mandate we received from voters this past election confidently. With that, I look forward to joining the caucus as we usher in our next leader and take our party further into the future.”
It should be noted that, while Democrats enjoyed historic gains in both the House and Senate on Tuesday, they did not increase their majority in 2024, settling instead for a status quo in both the House and Senate.
Less than two hours before Welch’s announcement Thursday, Crespo insisted that Welch needed to step aside.
“I think he needs to resign. There’s a lot at stake here. The caucus has been weakened by this,” he said.
Crespo said there are two groups in the caucus most at risk. “First there’s the newbies” he said. “It’s tough for them to come in as new members and take on the speaker.” The other, he said, are numerous people — like Hernandez, Delgado and Morgan — in Democratic leadership roles.
“They’ve got a lot to lose,” Crespo said of people who have titles and perks in Welch’s leadership structure.
Crespo said he wants Democratic leaders to go further than just getting Welch out as Speaker. He said Welch has both an appointed position with the Cook County Democratic organization and an elected position on the Democratic State Central Committee.
“I’d ask the Cook County Democratic Party and the Democratic Party of Illinois to re-think whether they want him to continue in leadership,” he said. “I’m not sure if they want him to remain there.”
Crespo said he’d been speaking with House colleagues who didn’t sign the letter, and he’s OK with it.
“They feel the same way (as the signers),” Crespo said. “They have their reasons why they don’t want to come out yet.”
Crespo said that aside from Welch’s dragging his feet for three years on the Harry Benton sexual abuse allegations, it is Welch’s management style that presents the biggest problem. He pointed to two House administrative rules imposed by Welch that he said need to be changed in January.
Under Welch, Crespo said, the House system has been hobbled by an arbitrary “60 vote” rule under which Welch did not call any bill to the floor that did not have 60 Democratic votes lined up for it.
“Besides making Republicans inconsequential, you are alienating 18 other (Democratic) members in the House,” he said, “
Crespo also condemned the so-called “working groups” Welch has appointed to process bills that have passed out of House committees. He called the process “undemocratic” and said it disrespects House members who have sought assignment to specific committees because they consider the issues those committees address as particularly important to them and expect the bills they pass on to be handled in a transparent, public manner.
“Bills are considered in committee in a public process and passed out,” Crespo said. “Then they go to working groups that operate (behind closed doors).”