Nybo, Sandack Call for IL Legislative Term Limits

State Sen. Ron Sandack’s (R-Downers Grove) resolution to impose 10-year term limits on Illinois Legislators was read into Senate record Tuesday, according to a press release from his office.

“It’s high time we returned to a citizen legislature where citizen-servants attended to the business of the State and then returned home to their community," Sandack said in the release. "It is a privilege to serve. Being a member of the General Assembly should not be an opportunity to get connected or rich.”

The resolution proposes a Constitutional Amendment to prohibit a person from holding office in the Illinois legislature for more than 10 years. That 10 years would include time in either chamber and time served non-consecutively. The resolution can be viewed here.

State Rep. Chris Nybo (R-Lombard) filed a similar proposal Jan. 10 which would limit state representatives to no more than six terms and state senators to no more than three terms, according to a press release from his office. 

“Serving in the legislature was never meant to be a ‘lifetime career’ but too many legislators have made it that,” Nybo said in the press release.

“Illinois government has a sad history of being unaccountable to the taxpayers and irresponsible with their tax dollars, primarily because we have too many ‘career politicians’ who place self-interest above the public interest.”

A recent poll conducted by the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute shows that 75 percent of Illinois residents now favor term limits for state legislators, according to Nybo's press release.  

Fifteen state legislatures have adopted term limits, eight of America’s ten largest cities adopted term limits for their city councils and/or mayor and 37 states place term limits on their constitutional officers, according to the release. 

“State government has failed the residents of Illinois,” Nybo said in the release.

 “The people deserve to have their government back, and one way to make that happen is stop entrenched incumbents from insulating themselves from accountability by making sure we have a regular infusion of new energy, new ideas and new people.”