* Click here for some background. Governor JB Pritzker was asked about Speaker Welch’s call for Rep. Harry Benton to resign during an an unrelated press conference…

Reporter: Governor, given the fact that Speaker Welch called on Rep. Harry Benton to resign, do you believe that Benton should resign. And has the process that has taken five months ago taken too long?

Pritzker: It has taken too long. But let me begin by saying that in Illinois we demand a very high standard for people who serve in public office. I think the public demands that. Certainly those of us who are living by that standard demand it of everybody else. And so when the Speaker of the House has received a report from the Legislative Inspector General, and that report has led him to call for the resignation of a member or the possible expulsion of a member. I think we should all take that very seriously, and certainly Representative Benton ought to take that very seriously. I do.

Reporter: Governor, have you seen the LIG’s report into the Benton investigation?

Pritzker: I have not. I have not, but I take the speaker at his word he wouldn’t call for the resignation unless there was something or some things in that report that are very, very serious.

* Gov. Pritzker was later asked whether the Legislative Inspector General’s report should be made public…

Reporter: Given the fact that five years ago, Me Too problem in the Speaker’s office led to change. There might some concerned that there might not enough transparency in what actually happened in this case. Should this report made public? […]

Pritzker: Yes, more transparency is always better in government. Here’s the challenge, when people make allegations, and in politics there are people who make false allegations against elected officials. They need to be investigated before they’re just sort of put out there under official banner. And so I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t know all the details. I would like to know all the details. Meanwhile, the legislature has put together a process and procedure for going through those with an independent Legislative Inspector General who’s doing the job of investigating, and I think that’s that’s a process that obviously, when the Speaker is calling for someone’s resignation or the possibility of expulsion, that process seems to be working. Even if we all think that it could happen faster. It happened, and I would hope that justice would be done here. And I have to say, the Speaker doesn’t call for people’s resignation very often, and when he does and has the details in front of him, I trust that he is doing the right thing.

* Gov. Pritzker was also asked how Illinois is preparing for the legal fight after the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear a challenge to Cook County’s assault weapons ban…

Reporter: The Supreme Court is saying that they will take up the Cook County assault weapons ban. What are you doing to potentially prepare for the statewide ban to also be overturned?…

Pritzker: Yes, I think that they will be attacking all of the assault weapons bans with this case that they’re taking up. What we’re engaging in is assisting the Attorney General in getting outside advisers and counsel for the case before the Supreme Court, and making sure that we have all of our ducks in a row to protect the rights of the people of this state that are protected by the assault weapons ban, that is what we’re doing. The rights of people to go to a Fourth of July parade and be safe and not have 48 people shot with more than 60 bullets per second issued by a weapon that shouldn’t be available to the public. So I’m pleased that we will have the opportunity to defend that law. This is a Supreme Court that I know starts out not believing in protecting those that right to be free from violence. But I’m hopeful that they will hear the arguments and they will decide the right way.

Reporter: What do you expect that outside help to be able do…

Pritzker: I just want to be clear, the Attorney General is going to lead the effort on our behalf, and of course, the Cook County State’s Attorney, of course, will be involved in that endeavor. But we want to make sure we’ve got the best experts in the country that are helping. We’ve got some of them here in Illinois helping to defend the law, because it’s the right thing. We have banned assault weapons across the state of Illinois for a reason, and our families ought to live in peace, and we don’t need those kinds of weapons. We can stand for the Second Amendment and allow people to have weapons to defend themselves. They don’t need a weapon that can fire that many bullets in a single second.

* Finally, the Bears…

Reporter: First of all, are there any updates on the Bears? Have you talked to the Bears organization since the last two weeks? You were talking about this idea of legislation being blended between the House and Senate. That’s number one. The second question is about Hawthorne Racetrack, as you know, they are in bankruptcy proceedings right now, and there is a stalking horse bidder that’s being considered who would basically get rid of the race track, and that the real estate would be sold. As governor, I know that the Hawthorn issue has been discussed in the legislature before about giving it more money. As governor what would you like to see with that land at Hawthorne Racetrack?

Pritzker: These are private companies making private decisions about their future. I think in bankruptcy, companies that own a piece of property don’t have a lot of choices about who they’d like to sell to. I don’t have an opinion about the buyer, the stalking horse bidder, or any other bidder that may come forward about that property, so I don’t have anything to add to that. I mean, I am a supporter of our horse racing industry in the state. I was very saddened a number of years ago when the Arlington race course was closed, that was a mainstay of the horse racing industry in Illinois. But as you know, around the country horse racing broadly has been in decline, other than the Kentucky Derby, of course, which everyone I think pays attention to. But even that business that owns the Kentucky Derby has diversified into other gaming and so on, because of the challenges of the horse racing industry. So I don’t have a lot to add to that, but I believe in the horse racing industry. […] But I’m sorry, you had another question?

Reporter: Has there been any movement in the last two weeks. Have you talked to the Bears at all?

Pritzker: I know every time I stand in front of the press, you all want me to give some new feature of it. I can say conversations continue, they make calls to people, there’s a whole lot that they are interested in, and there isn’t anything new to add to what I’ve said in the past. I mean, as soon as they are able to put something together and there are discussions enough with the legislators, I’m sure that we’ll be able to come forward and give you some news. But until then, nothing to add.