Update: Monmouth College Midwest Matters Lecture Scheduled for Dec. 6 Has Been Postponed
EDITORS: The Midwest Matters Lecture scheduled for Dec. 6 has been postponed. It is anticipated that it will be given in early 2024. A release will be posted when a new date is known. -- Duane Bonifer, Office of Communications and Marketing Monmouth College
MONMOUTH, Ill. (11/27/2023) — EDITORS: The Midwest Matters Lecture scheduled for Dec. 6 has been postponed. It is anticipated that it will be given in early 2024. A release will be posted when a new date is known.
-- Duane Bonifer,
Office of Communications and Marketing
Monmouth College
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Illinois Speaker of the House Rep. Emanuel "Chris" Welch will deliver this year's Monmouth College Midwest Matters Lecture.
Welch will speak at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6, in the Morgan Room of Poling Hall. His talk is free and open to the public.
Welch, who represents the 7th District in the Chicago area, was elected the 70th speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives in January 2021. He is the first Black to serve in this position.
Welch has represented the 7th District since January 2013. He has also served as chair of the House Executive Committee and before that he chaired the Higher Education Committee.
As state representative, Welch has focused on improving classroom education, creating jobs, helping the state's most vulnerable residents, and streamlining state government. Welch was the chief sponsor of several pieces of historic legislation, including the law bringing cursive writing back into schools, the Historic Illinois Trust Act, which made Illinois a more welcoming state for immigrants, and the Homeless Bill of Rights.
Welch is a leading voice for adding people of color to the boards of publicly held corporations after sponsoring landmark legislation that requires Illinois corporations to annually disclose their board composition.
He has received several awards for his legislative record, including the prestigious Zeke Giorgi Award from the AFL-CIO and the Friend and Education Award from the Illinois Education Association.
Prior to being elected to the General Assembly, Welch served 12 years on the Proviso Township High School Board of Education, including 10 years as board chair. Welch led the Proviso School Board in the creation of the Proviso Math and Science Academy, a school recognized by Chicago Magazine and U.S. News & World Report.
A graduate of Proviso West High School, Northwestern University and The John Marshall Law School, Welch is a 2016 inductee into the John Marshall Law School Wall of Fame.
Founded in 1853 and affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Monmouth College provides a transformative educational experience within a caring community of learners. A residential liberal arts college that is the birthplace of the women's fraternity movement, Monmouth College empowers students to realize their full potential, live meaningful lives, pursue successful careers, and shape their communities and the world through service and leadership.
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Illinois Speaker of the House Rep. Emanuel “Chris” Welch.