* Rep. Kelly Cassidy…

The Legislative Inspector General’s report tells a disturbing story of a persistent culture of sexual harassment in Springfield–and of the utter failure of our system of accountability. Based on this report, it is even more clear that Rep. Benton’s resignation was just–but he should have been forced to leave our workplace far earlier, before he was able to do so much additional harm to more women.

Then, there is the matter of process. The Speaker’s staff were made aware of egregious sexual harassment at the hands of former Rep. Benton. The victim understandably declined to follow the guidance to take her case to the Legislative Inspector General. The process can be intimidating, as I know firsthand. But the Speaker’s explanation that his office did nothing more to pursue accountability for or reduce potential further harm from Rep. Benton because the victim did not want to go to the LIG is insufficient. There were other steps available to the Speaker to protect other staff and ensure accountability for Rep. Benton that we have seen employed in cases of other members over the years. We know that, because the Speaker has now, three years later, pursued those steps, and has done so apparently without the victim’s express permission.

From the LIG report, here is what is clear:

● The Speaker’s Office filed a complaint in March 2026 regarding Rep. Benton’s behavior after making initial contact with the LIG’s office in February.
● That complaint did, apparently, include the former Benton staffer’s experience, despite her reported insistence that her case not be brought before the LIG. We can debate whether or not her wishes should have been respected–but the argument the Speaker has been making, which is that he took no action for nearly three years out of respect for her wishes, does not hold up to scrutiny.
● The LIG filing from Speaker Welch’s Office also included two other complaints about Rep. Benton’s behavior toward women. It is unclear whether those two women agreed to have their cases included in the LIG complaint, or whether the Speaker’s team even asked them what they wanted. The Speaker should clarify this, and what his office’s standard procedure for such complaints will be going forward.
● Had the Speaker intervened meaningfully in 2023, he may have been able to prevent the victimization of the other two women, who were harassed in May 2025 and January 2026, respectively. Instead, $1.4 million was spent to reelect Benton to his seat in 2024.

Just as important is the question of what was not addressed in the report, which is the matter of Speaker Welch’s inappropriate conduct toward the former staffer of Rep. Benton.

The woman came to the Speaker for advice, and he told her to move their communication to an encrypted app, where he asked her to meet him at a bar. Even if the Speaker did not intend to send flirtatious signals, or to generate pressure on a young woman he had already indicated he found attractive, the effect of his behavior was to make her uncomfortable. I encourage the Speaker to acknowledge that publicly and apologize to the woman for his conduct. If we are going to be able to move forward in earnest, that is a necessary step. This young woman, like so many before her, chose to leave our workplace entirely. We should all view that as a loss not just for her–but for all of us who want what’s best for our state.

The Speaker must demonstrate a sincere desire to repair the harm he has done, and to correct the broken system in which we are all operating. To date, that has not been the spirit of his response. Instead, we have heard a series of excuses, victim blaming, and a failure to publicly acknowledge shortcomings. That has been disappointing. Efforts to make changes to the laws and procedures around inappropriate behavior in the Capitol must center the experiences of victims. Unless we examine these policies through the eyes and experiences of the people we’re intending to protect, we will continue to fall short.

Finally, I am alarmed by the rebuttal to this report filed by the lobbyist who was sexually harassed by Rep. Benton in January 2026. She lays out numerous errors written into the account of her experience by LIG McCuskey. The LEC has made clear that the summary report is the result of interviews with at least two dozen individuals, and there may be variations in their recollections. But we can not disregard her concerns and should begin from a place of believing a victim’s account.

Ensuring that victims feel safe coming forward, whether to their Ethics Officer or the LIG, requires us to create mechanisms that protect their stories, their confidentiality, and their belief that they have access to recourse in the face of abusive behavior in the workplace.