Watchdog's report on Benton raises more questions about Speaker Welch's handling of sexual harassment

It only takes “a cursory reading” of a woman’s 2023 complaint about Harry Benton “to see a very early pattern and practice of sexual harassment” by the now-disgraced ex-state representative, according to Springfield’s top watchdog. But that didn’t stop Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch from supporting Benton’s reelection campaign in a purple suburban district to the tune of $1.4 million. And it would take nearly three years for Welch to take any meaningful action to rein in Benton’s…