Illinois House speaker’s office orders Democratic lawmakers to remain silent over Tribune political questions

People talk outside the office of House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch while legislators are in session on Feb. 20, 2024, at the Illinois State Capitol. Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office issued an order instructing his 78-member Democratic supermajority not to speak to a Chicago Tribune reporter about “political matters” at the State Capitol or elsewhere, citing highly dubious grounds that such discussions could be an ethical breach.

The memo warned that Gorner was asking questions “that were explicitly political” and stated that “it is inappropriate to discuss campaign related matters on the Capitol grounds.” None were provided because no such statutory prohibitions exist in Illinois law and, if they did, they would likely be in violation of First Amendment free speech protections.

Asked for documentation of the clarification, Driscoll did not provide any. She also declined to identify the people who put together the initial memo, but said Welch was not involved.She also did not offer an apology to Gorner or the media over the content of the memo, nor to members of the Democratic caucus for not trusting them to use their own judgment.

Don Craven, president of the Illinois Press Association and its general legal counsel, said he knew of “no limitation of the ability of lawmakers to discuss election results, even in the Capitol.” Wheeler also said the success of such an order was unlikely because independently elected lawmakers will not pay attention to it, although some interviewed by Gorner on Thursday declined to speak to him, saying they didn’t want to discuss anything campaign-related in the Capitol.

Records show that none of the more than $1.6 million that Crawford raised in large donations came from within the House 31st District he will represent if he wins the general election in November.

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