Representative Sandack Stands with GOP Colleagues in Calling for Term Limits for Legislators

Today State Representative Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove) joined nine members of the House Republican Freshman Class in calling for term limits in the General Assembly. Three of the new lawmakers spoke during a Wednesday Capitol press conference, where they expressed their disgust with the partisan political atmosphere that exists in Springfield, and said there is no better time than now, when the legislature is in gridlock, to advance the issue of term limits.

In spite of the nearly 600,000 Illinoisans who signed petitions last year in favor of putting a Constitutional Amendment question to voters about term limits, when challenged the initiative was rejected by the Appellate Court. As a result of the ruling, three House Republicans, including Sandack, filed legislation seeking ballot questions about term limits of varying degrees.

“On the very first day of this 99th General Assembly, I filed HJRCA1, which would allow Illinois voters to decide if term limits are a good idea for the Senate and House of Representatives,” said Sandack. “The bill was sent to the Rules Committee less than 24 hours after I filed it, and it has been bottled up there ever since. I applaud my new colleagues for bringing this important issue into the light.”

HJRCA1 would allow voters to decide if the Illinois Constitution should be amended to allow for 10-year term limits for both Senators and State Representatives. In addition to HJRCA1, this year Representative Steve Andersson (R-Geneva) filed HJRCA20, which calls for term limits of 12 years, and Representative Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) filed HJRCA10, which calls for 20-year term limits. All three pieces of legislation were stalled in the Rules Committee and never scheduled for hearings.

“The way these bills were buried in the Rules Committee and never assigned to committees for hearings speaks to why term limits are so necessary,” Sandack said. “When one person has complete control over what legislation moves and which bills are ignored, that is a concentration of power that should not be allowed to go unchecked. Term limits would allow for a healthy turnover of leadership and representation.”

To hear more about Sandack’s HJRCA1, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NwTP2onfetc.