Springfield commission votes to release report on disgraced ex-state Rep. Harry Benton this month

First publishedJul 23, 19:47 UTC

Last updatedJul 23, 20:27 UTC · 11m ago

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Chicago Sun-Times6Springfield commission votes to release report on disgraced ex-state Rep. Harry Benton this monthJul 23, 19:47 UTCOpen ↗

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<p>A Springfield commission voted Thursday to release a state government watchdog’s report on the conduct of a disgraced suburban lawmaker who resigned earlier this month after a series of sexual harassment allegations.</p><p>The legislative inspector general’s report on <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/politics/2026/07/06/harry-benton-investigation-report-misconduct-illinois-legislature" target="_blank" ><u>ex-state Rep. Harry Benton</u></a>, D-Plainfield, is expected to be made public by the end of the month, following the unanimous vote from the General Assembly’s bipartisan Legislative Ethics Commission.</p><p>Calls for its release have grown in the wake of last week’s Chicago Tribune report that Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch learned of a previous allegation against Benton three years before the one that prompted Welch to remove Benton from their Democratic caucus in February.</p><p>This month, Welch made a point of noting that he demanded Benton’s resignation within “an hour” of receiving the report from Legislative Inspector General Mike McCuskey on the sealed allegations against the representative.</p><p>Benton <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/2026/07/03/plainfield-state-rep-harry-benton-resigns-amid-allegations-of-misconduct" >stepped down</a> July 3, but hasn’t addressed the allegations — or given up his $72,000-per-year elected post as Wheatland Township highway commissioner.</p><div class="Enhancement" data-align-center> <div class="Enhancement-item" data-crop=""> <figure class="Figure"><a class="AnchorLink" id="image-fb0000" name="image-fb0000"></a> <picture data-crop="medium"> <source type="image/webp" width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/04f7f98/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2100x1179+0+111/resize/490x275!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F05%2F71%2F83c22d23485893449628b2f14ac5%2Fbenton.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/7802878/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2100x1179+0+111/resize/980x550!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F05%2F71%2F83c22d23485893449628b2f14ac5%2Fbenton.jpg 2x" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <source width="490" height="275" data-srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ba2504e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2100x1179+0+111/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F05%2F71%2F83c22d23485893449628b2f14ac5%2Fbenton.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" srcset="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" /> <img class="Image" alt="Harry Benton, Illinois House 97th District Democratic nominee, candidate questionnaire, 2020 election" srcset="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ba2504e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2100x1179+0+111/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F05%2F71%2F83c22d23485893449628b2f14ac5%2Fbenton.jpg 1x,https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/749d0c7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2100x1179+0+111/resize/980x550!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F05%2F71%2F83c22d23485893449628b2f14ac5%2Fbenton.jpg 2x" width="490" height="275" data-src="https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/ba2504e/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2100x1179+0+111/resize/490x275!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fchorus-production-cst-web.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com%2Fbrightspot%2F05%2F71%2F83c22d23485893449628b2f14ac5%2Fbenton.jpg" data-lazy-load="true" src="data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHZlcnNpb249IjEuMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIyNzVweCIgd2lkdGg9IjQ5MHB4Ij48L3N2Zz4=" > </picture> <div class="Figure-content"><figcaption class="Figure-caption"><p>Former state Rep. Harry Benton.</p></figcaption><span class="line"></span><div class="Figure-credit"><p>Facebook</p></div></div> </figure> </div> </div><p>A lobbyist told the Tribune that Benton made lewd comments to her at a River North bar in February, and her complaint to the LIG prompted Welch to take action in February. But in 2023, Welch’s office waited months to probe a separate complaint against Benton and didn’t take any meaningful action.</p><p>Welch, who took the speaker’s gavel in the wake of now-federally convicted Michael Madigan in 2021, later made a Benton complainant uncomfortable with his use of heart-eye faces and other emojis in response to social media posts, she told the Tribune.</p><p>"The Legislative Inspector General’s independent investigation into former Representative Benton provides a full and accurate account of the steps my office took to support those who came forward," Welch said in a statement Wednesday.

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  Springfield commission votes to release report on disgraced ex-state Rep. Harry Benton this month

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