Welch’s office initially defended the issuance of the order based on the

<img decoding="async" class="article-image article-image-ux-impr article-image-new expandable aligncenter" title="Hatem Abudayyeh, the chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, speaks during a news conference at Federal Plaza on Friday, March 22, 2024, announcing a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago over the denial of permits proposed by various groups to protest within "sight and sound" of the Democratic National Convention to be held at the United Center in..." src="https://img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB1knrYu.img?w=768&h=512&m=6&x=859&y=253&s=1834&d=159" alt="Hatem Abudayyeh, the chair of the U.S. Palestinian Community Network, speaks during a news conference at Federal Plaza on Friday, March 22, 2024, announcing a federal lawsuit against the city of Chicago

Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office issued an order instructing his 78-member Democratic supermajority not to speak to a Chicago Tribune reporter about “political matters” at the State Capitol or elsewhere, citing highly dubious grounds that such discussions could be an ethical breach.