* Press release…

Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch officially launched the new “Democrats for the Illinois House (DIH)” political committee, which will serve as the new campaign arm of the House Democratic Caucus. The following is a statement from Speaker Chris Welch:

“Today, I am proud to announce the creation of our new caucus campaign committee, Democrats for the Illinois House (DIH). DIH’s mission will be based on our united effort to work across the state to elect a diverse coalition of Democrats to the Illinois House and continue our caucus’ work on behalf of middle-class families and communities of color in every single corner of our state. These next few years are critical to shaping our state’s future, while reversing the damage done by the Trump Administration that put a dangerous, extreme agenda ahead of meaningful solutions for pandemic recovery and building a more equitable state. I am excited to get to work with our Democratic allies and partners across the state to support and elect Democratic candidates who share our values and commitment to building a stronger state for all Illinoisans.”

The DIH will also include a Fundraising Committee to lead the caucus’s fundraising efforts year-round:

Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth, Chair
Rep. Jay Hoffman, Vice Chair
Rep. Carol Ammons
Rep. Kam Buckner
Rep. Deb Conroy
Rep. Theresa Mah
Rep. Bob Morgan
Rep. Delia Ramirez
Rep. Mike Zalewski

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…Adding… Sun-Times...

The new speaker said the new committee will be a lot more inclusive and will have a lot of input from members in the caucus and “we’re going to be working together to raise money.

“It won’t just be the Chris Welch Show, there will be other Democrats out there helping me raise money on behalf of our caucus, this will be a total team effort,” Welch said. “It’s important that we work together, in collaboration and in partnership. When we work together we can achieve some great things.” […]

“I think it’s important when a new leader comes into a position as important as this one that we don’t just ponder about it being a new beginning and a fresh start, we take action, and I believe that this was one of the actions we are taking or have taken to show that this is a fresh start. It’s also a promise that I made to my caucus members that we’re going to do things in a different way.”

A fresh committee is a fresh beginning, Welch said when asked about why he chose to create a new fund instead of just renaming the old one.

The new start will allow Welch and the House Democrats he now leads to distance themselves from Madigan, who has the cloud of a federal investigation looming over him after federal prosecutors brought a $1.3 million bribery case against ComEd that implicated the former speaker last July.