Democrats in the Illinois House of Representatives made history on Jan. 13 when they elected the first Black lawmaker to serve as House Speaker and ended the reign of Rep.
One of the first tests for Welch will be rather mundane and arcane, yet all important — writing the rules under which the chamber will operate. Without offering specifics, he
Welch sought a unifying tone in his first floor speech as speaker, telling his fellow lawmakers “today will be the last time I talk about us as Democrats or Republicans.”
“Today will be the last time I talk about us as Democrats or Republicans because I want to talk about us being united,” Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch said.