* The Tribune…

A legislative inspector general’s investigatory report released Friday found disgraced former state Rep. Harry Benton violated state law by engaging in sexual harassment, and also revealed the existence of a third female victim, a staffer for another state legislator who said Benton’s “creepy” behavior in a Springfield bar last year made her feel uncomfortable. […]

The former Benton staffer sent [House Speaker Chris Welch’s] office a lengthy list of allegations, many of a sexual nature, against Benton in April 2023, followed by an additional list weeks later, the Tribune has reported. But Welch’s office did not address Benton until that July. By then, the staffer had quit Benton’s office, saying she feared for her mental health.

“The Chief of Staff and the Ethics Officer for the Speaker’s Office decided to confront Benton with these allegations after the district employee resigned in June 2023 to avoid retaliation by Benton if he found out who filed the complaint,” McCuskey wrote.

That statement is at odds with what Welch has said at various Democratic caucus meetings as he has tried to contain criticism over his handling of the Benton situation. In those meetings, Welch has maintained that it was the former Benton staffer who asked his office not to pursue questioning Benton until she had quit. The staffer told the Tribune she did not recall telling Welch’s office that.

The former Benton staffer rejected Welch’s office’s suggestions that she file a complaint with the legislative inspector general’s office at the time because she did not want to become a pariah and jeopardize a future job in politics and government, she told the Tribune. She instead thought the matter could be handled internally. […]

In a statement, Welch maintained the report “reaffirms confidence that our office acted responsibly–following legal guidance, respecting the wishes of those who came forward, and taking decisive action as additional information established a pattern of misconduct.”

But in the report, McCuskey made no judgment on the speaker’s office’s actions. Additionally, the report makes no mention of whether Welch ever spoke to Benton following the former staffer’s allegations.

* Gov. JB Pritzker signed a heap of bills today. Click here for the full list and click here for our live coverage of press releases.

*** Statehouse News ***

* Center Square | Ammons investigating committee member says work to be timely: As that federal case continues in the courts, state Rep. Adam Niemerg, R-Dieterch, said the House Special Investigating Committee will look into the charges. “It’s very important because we have a culture of corruption that’s been going on for many, many years here in Illinois,” Niemerg told The States by The Center Square. Niemerg said among the committee’s first actions will be to approve a letter asking the U.S. Attorney’s Office to outline more about their investigation that produced the charges.

* Capitol News Illinois | Pritzker signs law regulating how social media platforms interact with children: House Bill 5511, known as the Children’s Social Media Safety Act, imposes a series of requirements on social media companies and how they are to interact with users under 18 years old. The law, which will take effect in 2028, was one of Pritzker’s top priorities during the spring legislative session and received unanimous support in both chambers. “Big social media companies have intentionally designed their platforms to keep kids online for as long as possible,” Pritzker said before signing the bill at an event in Chicago. “Their algorithms learn what captures a child’s attention, which most often seems to be anger and euphoria, and then the algorithm keeps feeding them more of it. Why? The almighty dollar. They feed our kids an unrealistic picture of life and sell them products and agendas to achieve it.”

*** Chicago ***

* Block Club | As School Year Approaches, South Side Students ‘Sick Of Waiting’ For Peace Room Partnerships: Hyde Park Academy administrators abruptly ended partnerships with the community groups in May, as the partnerships no longer aligned “with the specific needs of the school community,” Chicago Public Schools officials said at the time. Since then, students and organizers pushing to restore the partnerships say the room has existed in name only, without the programs that established it as a needed “safe space” at Hyde Park Academy. That safe space was especially needed last school year, when three classmates were killed in crashes and a shooting, they said.

*** Cook County and Suburbs ***

* Crain’s | Cook County Health projects $100M spike in charity care as Medicaid rolls shrink: CCH is projecting its uncompensated payer mix will rise by 30% in 2027. Charity care costs are projected to increase by $100 million, reaching an estimated $485 million. To maintain access to care, the $4.7 billion preliminary budget includes a $40 million increase in support from Cook County coffers, bringing the total county budget support up to $208 million.

* Daily Southtown | Orland Township among defendants in First Amendment lawsuit brought by Supervisor Paul O’Grady: The lawsuit names former Orland Township Clerk Cindy Murray, the township, state. Sen. Michael Hastings, the village of Orland Hills, Orland Hills Mayor Kyle Hastings, Orland Hills Village Board member Kyle Hastings II, unnamed Orland Hills police officers and “as-yet unnamed co-conspirators,” as defendants, according to the complaint. O’Grady filed the lawsuit in December 2025 with help of three people who ran alongside him on the Orland Township Together slate during the April 1, 2025 township election: Reem Odeh and former board members John Lynch and Patrick Feldner. […] Defendants in the lawsuit, including Orland Township, filed three separate motions to dismiss the case based on the plaintiffs failing to state a claim. U.S. District Court Judge Andrea R. Wood is considering those motions, with the next hearing in the case scheduled for 10 a.m. on Oct. 22 via phone.

* Crain’s | Alcohol distributor Republic National cutting nearly 300 jobs in Illinois: The Texas-based company, which distributed brands such as Gallo wines and Jose Cuervo tequila, told the state of Illinois it is cutting 280 jobs at facilities in Niles and Romeoville, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notice Filing. Republic National filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the weekend. Its Illinois joint venture — like those in several other states — was not part of the bankruptcy filing. But the company said in its WARN filing: “The company has been exploring various strategic alternatives that would secure capital to avoid liquidation of its Illinois facilities. Unfortunately, there currently is no financing available to continue operations of the facilities.”

* Daily Herald | Arlington Heights uncorks drinks-to-go downtown social district: Nine businesses — Beer on the Wall, Big Shot Piano Lounge, Cortland’s Garage, Hey Nonny, Mago Grill & Cantina, Metropolis Ballroom, Peggy Kinnane’s Irish Restaurant, Salsa 17 and Scratchboard Kitchen — are selling to-go drinks from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays through Sept. 26. Anyone 21 and older who shows an ID and wears a wristband can purchase one drink at a time from a participating business. Beer and cocktails are poured in 16-ounce plastic cups with a village-designed label identifying the establishment and date of sale.

*** Downstate ***

* STLPR | Madison County Board Chairman Slusser defends Fauci hanging post as ‘rhetorical hyperbole’: Madison County Board Chairman Chris Slusser said Friday that a comment he made on Facebook calling for the “public hanging” of Dr. Anthony Fauci was “rhetorical hyperbole.” Slusser’s comments were posted in the replies to a post that appears to have since been deleted. Slusser, from his personal account, made the comment around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. “He should receive a public hanging,” Slusser wrote of Fauci.

* Press release | Rep. Katie Stuart Condemns Hateful Comment by Madison County Board Chairman, Demands Retraction and Apology: “This rhetoric is harmful and disgusting. Political violence is always wrong, and we should all be able to denounce political violence no matter our party affiliation. The recent rise in political violence has taken lives on both sides of the aisle; we should work to end this dangerous cycle, not fuel the fire. From county board members to the President, elected officials should not resort to threats of violence just because they disagree with or dislike someone. I am calling for Chairman Slusser to retract this comment and publicly apologize for his appalling choice of words as a public official. No matter our political party, we can all agree that violence and hatred of this kind is always uncalled for, unacceptable, and unbecoming of a public official.”

* WCIA | Massey family reacts to Prisoner Review Board’s denial of Sean Grayson’s release from prison: Shortly after, the Massey family began speaking in opposition to Grayson’s release. The four were administered under oath before Sontae Massey began speaking first. “I’m not sure that I can write, speak or articulate anything that can encompass the devastation that Sean Grayson has created for our family,” Sontae said. “We should all be in agreement upon one simple concept: no one is above the law. It is noteworthy that I believe he received a compassionate sentence from the jury because of his condition.”

* Press release | SIU Carbondale researchers name new microbe after the university: Scott Hamilton-Brehm, an associate professor in the School of Biological Sciences, discovered a novel microbe and named it Caldatribacterium inferamans strain SIUC-1. This translates to “the mysterious hot-living bacterium that loves the underworld.” And it has the potential to unlock mysteries about life beyond Earth. Hamilton-Brehm was working in Nevada’s Desert Research Institute on a NASA-funded project called Life Underground when he discovered the microbe. He plunged a fishing line nearly 2,500 feet into the Earth’s harsh environment via a borehole, collecting water samples where microbes could colonize a sponge.

*** National ***

* CNN | New York sues prediction market Kalshi alleging it’s an illegal gambling operation: Attorney General Letitia James alleges Kalshi failed to obtain a state gambling license and pay related taxes. The lawsuit, which was filed in New York State court early Friday, is seeking an order enjoining Kalshi’s operations, plus fines, restitution and the forfeiture of profits. “New York’s gambling laws protect children from underage betting and help combat gambling addiction,” James said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “No matter what they call themselves, prediction markets like Kalshi are gambling platforms, plain and simple.”

* NYT | Plug-In Solar Panels Are Starting to Sprout in U.S. Backyards: Utah became the first state to legalize plug-in solar systems last year. Nine others, including New Jersey, Virginia and Colorado, have joined it, and lawmakers in California, Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania and several other states are considering doing so. Colorado enacted one of the broadest plug-in solar laws this year. The sponsor of the bill, State Representative Lesley Smith, a Democrat, said she had first seen the technology during a trip to Germany, which has pioneered its use. When she discussed plug-in solar systems at a town hall, she said, “everyone started clapping.” (From Isabel: A bill to bring plug-in solar to Illinois stalled in the Senate. Click here for more on the bill if you’re interested.)