West Cook News

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch (D-Westchester) is among the state's leading advocates for the so-called "SAFE-T Act," which protects those accused of most violent felony offenses from being jailed while awaiting trial.

They include aggravated battery, which will now be considered "non-detainable." That means a judge cannot order someone accused of aggravated battery to be held in jail pending trial.

Welch himself was arrested by Hillside police in 2002 for the alleged domestic battery of his girlfriend at the time, according to a village police report.

Leading SAFE-T Act advocate, Illinois House Speaker Chris Welch (D-Westchester) was once arrested for domestic battery. | Village of Hillside

The report, dated Jan. 12, 2002, was written by police officer James Peterson.

He said the reporting victim, a white female, told him that “during a verbal altercation” Welch “grabbed her hair with both hands while in the kitchen and proceeded to slam her head backwards several times on the countertop.”

The female declined medical attention, according to the report.

She did tell the officer she wanted to “sign complaints for domestic battery.”

“Immediately after this, (Welch) exited the home,” Peterson said. “I asked the victim if that was in fact the offender and was told yes. I immediately advised (Welch) to turn around and that he was being placed under arrest.”

Peterson wrote that the incident started as a “verbal argument.” The victim “related that she is no longer in a relationship with the home owner, Emanuel C. Welch … and was here to retrieve some of her belongings.”

“During this verbal argument, (the victim) admitted telling Welch he was a ‘loser,’” Peterson said. “At that point, Welch became enraged and grabbed her hair with both hands and slammed her head backwards on the countertop multiple times. Afterwards, he let her hair go and backed away.

“(The victim) attempted to leave the residence through the front door and then the rear door but was blocked by Welch with his body. Not knowing what else to do, she attempted to use the phone to call police. Welch then prevented her from doing that also.

“Now, being extremely scared because of his actions, (the victim) ran again to the back door and began screaming for help. Running around the home (Welch) then was able to grab a phone and run out the front door to call police.”

After speaking with Welch’s stepmother, the victim decided not to pursue a complaint against him, and he was subsequently released from custody, according to the report.

Welch denied the incident to Hillside Police, saying that the victim has been “crying over their breakup and shortly after called the police.” 

He claimed he neither grabbed her by the hair nor slammed her head on the kitchen countertop.

Peterson said he interviewed the victim four days later, and she showed him a four-inch bruise on her right arm. 

“She further reported that the bruise was the result of being grabbed by Mr. Welch,” Peterson said. “She said that she debated reporting the bruise to police and that when I called her, she decided to report it to me. At this time, she again decided not to sign a complaint.”

Reporter Bill Dwyer wrote on the Forest Park Forums message board that he filed a Freedom of Information request for the report with the Village of Hillside, but they improperly denied it. He had to appeal the Illinois Attorney General to obtain a copy, but did not receive it until after Welch had won the 2012 Democratic primary for state representative.

Dwyer’s editors at Forest Leaves, then owned by the Chicago Sun-Times, declined to pursue the story.

“Pioneer editors wanted to move on after the primary election, which, while frustrating for me, was the proper thing to do as a newspaper,” Dwyer said. “The election was over.”

First elected in 1981, Hillside Village President Joseph Tamburino has been a longtime political ally of Welch.