On the day she was sworn in as a new Illinois state representative for a swath of Chicago’s far southwest suburbs, Jessica Dixon Heitman wore a small “Dixon” pin she found in her jewelry box to honor her grandfather, the late U.S. Sen. Alan Dixon, whom she believes strongly influenced her interest in politics.
“My interest started probably when I was 3½ years old. I skipped down Michigan Avenue with him when he was running for reelection,” said Heitman, a married mother of three daughters. “Hopefully I can recreate that picture with my girls. Locally in Plainfield, obviously.”
Heitman was appointed on Monday to fill the 97th House District seat vacancy after its previous officeholder, two-term state Rep. Harry Benton, resigned earlier this month in disgrace amid sexual harassment allegations.
Heitman, who briefly worked in the Plainfield Democrat’s district office in early 2023 shortly after he took office, was unanimously chosen by Democratic Party officials in Will and Kendall counties to fill the seat and serve as the party’s nominee in the November general election.
Heitman was sworn in before a crowd of about 30 to 40 people at a Plainfield community center, where she spoke about the need to strengthen ethics laws in Springfield, particularly around harassment investigations.
“As legislators, we have a responsibility to protect the targets of harassment from continuing abuse and possible retaliation. We also have a duty to our constituents to assure transparency and accountability, including consequences for any leaders who misuse their positions to harass women and men who are simply trying to do their jobs and serve the people of Illinois,” she said, drawing applause from the crowd.
While she was a contract employee in Benton’s office, Heitman worked with a young female staff member who detailed numerous harassment allegations against him, many of them of a sexual nature, to Illinois House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch’s office. Benton was not punished at the time.
A Tribune investigation raised questions about how Welch’s office handled those allegations, which resurfaced this year when at least one other person came forward with other harassment allegations against Benton. Welch’s office has defended its handling of the case, saying it acted “promptly” and said “appropriate action was taken” — though prepared statements did not specify what, if any, disciplinary action occurred in 2023.
The latest allegations spurred Welch in late February to strip Benton of Democratic Caucus duties and House committee assignments and refer the claims to Legislative Inspector General Michael McCuskey’s office, though the speaker never disclosed any details about the allegations.
McCuskey concluded his report earlier this month, sparking Welch to call for Benton’s resignation, which Benton did on July 3. Benton also withdrew his reelection bid after McCuskey issued his private report of Benton to the speaker’s office. The eight-member Legislative Ethics Commission, made up of Republican and Democratic lawmakers, is weighing whether to make the report public.
“Over the years, I’ve heard people say that we need to change the culture in Springfield. I believe the problem is not just the culture. It’s our inadequate laws that allow the toxic culture to flourish,” Heitman told the crowd. “I’ve lived in Plainfield with my husband and my three beautiful daughters for the better part of a decade. Honestly, it’s been painful to see the (legislative) district become notorious throughout our state because of the actions of our former representative.
“As I take on this new duty, I’m going to do everything I can to make sure our district builds the reputation it deserves, as a place that values community, ethics, stability, fiscal responsibility and justice,” Heitman said.
Beyond tougher ethics laws, Heitman said she wants to see public schools fully funded, ease the property tax burden on Illinois homeowners, advocate for workers’ rights and push for equity “to our broken healthcare system.”
Heitman is the granddaughter of Dixon, a downstate Democrat who represented Illinois in the U.S. Senate from 1981 to 1993. Affectionately known as “Al the Pal,” Dixon earlier served as Illinois secretary of state and treasurer, along with lengthy stretches in the state House and Senate.
Heitman has done staff work in both chambers of the Illinois General Assembly. She served as deputy press secretary for former Illinois Senate President John Cullerton. She most recently was president of Dixon/Heitman Collective, a communications firm.
Heitman was measured in discussing her brief tenure working for Benton.
“I worked for him for a short amount of time. It was not a great fit,” she said in an interview after her remarks. “The office environment was not something I felt was conducive to anything successful happening in the (legislative district) … It’s a hard thing to talk about.”
Referring to the young woman who spoke to the Tribune about the harassment, Heitman said it was upsetting how the young woman’s experience made her leave a career in politics behind.
“She will never come back to the political arena. She has told me that. She has no interest in being in the environment because she doesn’t feel safe,” Heitman said Monday. “And that breaks my heart. I don’t think that’s how it should be.”
“I was at a luncheon yesterday, and multiple women spoke about how if they would have been in an environment like that at her age, they wouldn’t be where they are,” Heitman continued. “State representatives, saying, I never would have maybe joined that seat or gone for that seat because how could I if I would have been in that same environment? So it’s very unfortunate. She is a very passionate, brilliant, intelligent young woman.”
Heitman will face Republican Gabby Shanahan in the general election in November. Shanahan lost to Benton by a little over 2,300 votes in 2024.
In a prepared statement on Monday night, Shanahan sought to criticize Heitman about what she knew about Benton’s alleged misconduct from when she worked for him and “why she remained silent.”
A spokesperson for Heitman on Tuesday morning responded in a text: “Jessica was primarily concerned with supporting her colleague, who asked her not to get involved with any formal complaint.”
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