Chris Welch
70th Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives
Assumed office
January 13, 2021
Preceded byMichael Madigan
Member of the Illinois House of Representatives
from the 7th district
Assumed office
January 11, 2013
Preceded byCory Foster
Personal details
Born
Emanuel Christopher Welch

(1971-02-06) February 6, 1971
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseShawnTe Raines
Children2
EducationNorthwestern University (BA)
John Marshall Law School (JD)

Emanuel Christopher Welch[1] (born February 6, 1971), known as Chris Welch, is a lawyer and politician who is the Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. A Democrat, he represents the 7th district in Cook County,[2] which includes all or parts of River Forest, Forest Park, Maywood, Broadview, Bellwood, Hillside, Westchester, La Grange Park and Berkeley.[3]

Welch was elected the 70th Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives on January 13, 2021, succeeding longtime Speaker Michael Madigan. He is the first African-American to serve in this position.

Education and law career

Welch graduated from Proviso West High School in Hillside, Illinois, in 1989.[4] He attended Northwestern University, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1993, and the John Marshall Law School, graduating with a J.D. degree in 1997.[5]

A member of the Illinois bar in private practice, Welch is a partner at Ancel Glink. Before Ancel Glink, he was a partner at Sanchez, Daniels and Hoffman, LLP.[4]

Proviso Township High School Board of Education

In 2001, Welch was elected to the Proviso Township High School District 209 Board of Education, and later served at the Board's president. Welch led the district's efforts to establish the nationally recognized Proviso Math and Science Academy.[6] He stepped down from the Board in 2013, upon his election to the House.[7]

Illinois House of Representatives

Elections

Welch first ran for the Illinois House of Representatives in district 7 in 2006, challenging incumbent Democrat Karen Yarbrough. Welch focused his campaign on education. He lost the primary to Yarbrough.[8]

In 2012, Welch again sought the Democratic nomination for the legislative seat, and he narrowly defeated three other candidates including his former girlfriend in the primary and ran unopposed in the general election. He was sworn in on January 9, 2013.[9]

Welch's 2014 Democratic primary challenger, Antoinette Gray, was removed from the ballot for failing to meet the residency requirements for the position, leaving Welch unopposed in the primary.[10] He also ran unopposed in that year's general election for the seat.

In 2016, Welch sought a third term in the House, defeated Democratic primary challenger Chris Harris, and was unopposed in the general election. He was reelected in 2018 and 2020 without a challenger.[9]

Welch was reelected in 2022 against Republican challenger Eddie Kornegay with 77% of the vote.

Tenure

In 2018, then Governor-elect J. B. Pritzker appointed Welch to the Educational Success transition committee, which is responsible for state education policy.[11]

Welch led a special House committee investigating the ComEd Bribery scandal, which then-House Speaker Michael Madigan was later charged in. The committee's work ended without any findings. Welch later said that he felt the matter needed to be handled by prosecutors.[12]

Welch also chaired the House Executive Committee.[13] In the 2020 U.S. presidential election, he served as a presidential elector on behalf of Joe Biden, replacing former U.S. Representative Jerry Costello.[14]

House speaker

Election

On January 13, 2021, the Illinois House of Representatives elected Welch speaker.[13] He is the first African American to serve as Speaker of the Illinois House.[13]

First term (2021–2023)

In Welch's first term as House Speaker, the General Assembly passed an assault weapons ban,[15] the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act, the Safe-T Act, and new district maps to reflect the 2020 census data.

In the 2022 elections, Democrats expanded their supermajority in the House to 78 seats. Welch said that the Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs eliminating nationwide protection for abortion was a major factor in House Democrats' electoral success.[16]

According to the Chicago Tribune, Welch has "received mostly good reviews" from his caucus as speaker for "diversity in assigning tasks to and bringing in more people in bill negotiations."[17]

Second term (2023–)

The House reelected Welch speaker on January 11, 2023.

Two days later, he announced Robyn Gabel would be Majority Leader, replacing Greg Harris, who retired.[18]

Welch supported a bill that bans assault weapons in 2023.[19]

Personal life

Welch grew up with two brothers and three cousins, the children of his aunt who was murdered in Chicago. He has said that during his childhood, his mother worked as a nurse and his father was a union factory worker who worked two jobs a day.[20]

Welch is married to attorney ShawnTe Raines-Welch and has two children.[4] In 2022, Raines-Welch won the Democratic nomination to be a Cook County judge.

Welch lives in Hillside, Illinois.[21]

Electoral history

Illinois 7th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2012[22]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emanuel "Chris" Welch 4,670 39.10
Democratic Rory Hoskins 4,634 38.79
Democratic Beyonca Johnson 1,634 13.68
Democratic Princess C. Dempsey 1,007 8.43
Total votes 11,945 100.0
Illinois 7th Representative District General Election, 2012[23]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emanuel "Chris" Welch 35,505 100.0
Total votes 35,505 100.0
Illinois 7th Representative District General Election, 2014[24]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emanuel "Chris" Welch (incumbent) 26,839 100.0
Total votes 26,839 100.0
Illinois 7th Representative District Democratic Primary, 2016[25]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emanuel "Chris" Welch (incumbent) 18,117 65.55
Democratic Chris Harris 9,521 34.45
Total votes 27,638 100.0
Illinois 7th Representative District General Election, 2016[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emanuel "Chris" Welch (incumbent) 39,914 100.0
Total votes 39,914 100.0
Illinois 7th Representative District General Election, 2018[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emanuel "Chris" Welch (incumbent) 35,678 100.0
Total votes 35,678 100.0
Illinois 7th Representative District General Election, 2020[28]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emanuel "Chris" Welch (incumbent) 43,883 100.0
Total votes 43,883 100.0
Illinois 7th Representative District General Election, 2022[29]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Emanuel "Chris" Welch (incumbent) 24,725 77.6
Republican Eddie Kornegay 7,128 22.4
Total votes 31,853 100.0

References

  1. ↑ Village of Maywood Illinois. "Elected Officials".
  2. ↑ Hollman, John W., ed. (December 4, 2012). "97th General Assembly House of Representatives Transcription Debate 160th Legislative Day" (PDF). Illinois House of Representatives. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  3. ↑ "PA 97-0006 Legislative District 4" (PDF). May 18, 2011. Retrieved August 20, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "Biography".
  5. ↑ "Illinois General Assembly – Representative Biography". www.ilga.gov. Retrieved 2017-11-13.
  6. ↑ "Awards & Accomplishments". Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  7. ↑ Lotus, Jean (2013-01-17). "Chris Welch steps down as District 209 school board president". Forest Park Review. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  8. ↑ Stern, Seth (2021-02-11). "Yarbrough campaign declares victory". Oak Park. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  9. 1 2 "Chris Welch". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  10. ↑ Romain, Michael (2014-01-23). "New details emerge in Antoinette Gray ballot removal". Forest Park Review. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  11. ↑ Miller, Rich (November 27, 2018). "Pritzker transition announces Educational Success Committee". Capitol Fax. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Democrats seek to distance themselves from Michael Madigan as Gov. J.B. Pritzker acknowledges meeting with feds during investigation". Chicago Tribune. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  13. 1 2 3 Crepeau, Rick Pearson, Dan Petrella, Jamie Munks, Ray Long, Megan (13 January 2021). "Michael Madigan's decadeslong grip on Illinois ends as House Democrats make Rep. Emanuel 'Chris' Welch state's first Black speaker". chicagotribune.com. Chicago Tribune.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ↑ "Illinois Electoral College Members Formally Cast Ballots for Joe Biden, Kamala Harris". NBC Chicago. Chicago. 14 December 2020. Retrieved October 6, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Assault weapons to be banned in Illinois: House passes bill — and Pritzker vows to sign it 'immediately'". Chicago Sun-Times. 2023-01-10. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  16. ↑ "Poised for another term as speaker, Welch reflects on growing majority". Daily Herald. 2022-11-21. Retrieved 2022-11-23.
  17. ↑ "The toppling of Michael Madigan: How his reign as speaker ended and Emanuel 'Chris' Welch's emerged". Chicago Tribune. 8 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  18. ↑ "Capitol Fax.com – Your Illinois News Radar » *** UPDATED x1 – HGOP Leadership announced *** Rep. Robyn Gabel named Majority Leader, Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth will be new chief budgeteer". capitolfax.com. Retrieved 2023-01-14.
  19. ↑ "Illinois assault weapon ban heading to Pritzker's desk". Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  20. ↑ Kapos, Shia (30 September 2022). "What shaped Welch's view". POLITICO. Retrieved 2022-09-30.
  21. ↑ Holmes, Tom (2021-07-06). "Chris Welch: the back story". Oak Park. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
  22. ↑ "Election Results 2012 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  23. ↑ "Election Results 2012 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Election Results 2014 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Election Results 2016 GENERAL PRIMARY". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Election Results 2016 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Election Results 2018 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  28. ↑ "Election Results 2020 GENERAL ELECTION". Illinois State Board of Elections. December 4, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2022.
  29. ↑ . Chicago Tribune 2022 election results https://www.chicagotribune.com/election-results/#icb-websked#nt=screamer=Live 2022 election results. Retrieved November 16, 2022. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
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