Emanuel Chris Welch
IL House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch

Speaker of the IL House Welch previews budget address

Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch, the Speaker of Illinois House of Representatives, talked with The 21st in the hour before Governor JB Pritzker's 2022 State of the State and budget address. He addressed everything from taxes to fighting crime.

State Rep. Emanuel Chris Welch demonstrates his own penmanship on the House calendar after his cursive bill became law.
Dusty Rhodes/NPR Illinois

Cursive Law Becomes Welch’s Signature Issue

With teachers devoting much of their time to preparing students for standardized tests, penmanship has disappeared from the curriculum in many schools. A new state law approved Wednesday will bring it back, to ensure elementary students get instruction in cursive writing — sometime between 2nd and 5th grade.

More articles →