State Lawmakers Push For Term Limits

Jim Anderson -- Illinois Radio Network

Some state lawmakers who are new to Springfield say there ought to be term limits.

First-term Republicans don't like the fact that those who've been there longer, and who are in the majority party, get to call the shots.

"I've never held elected office before four months ago, but I have always been a supporter of term limits. After spending four months in this building, I've come to realize it's an absolute necessity. Just a few members are able to stifle the process for everyone," State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) said at a news conference in the Capitol.

The proposal they're talking about -- drawn up by State Rep. Steven A. Andersson (R-Geneva) -- would be a limit of 12 years in either the House or Senate, and a lifetime of 16 years in the General Assembly total, and a limit of two terms for statewide office holders. Anderson says this length of time is long enough so that staffers and lobbyists don't end up running the place, but it prevents members from serving for decades.

This would require a constitutional amendment, which lawmakers must vote to place on the ballot, which these members say House leadership is not going to call for a vote.

The governor ran on a promise of term limits of eight years for lawmakers and statewide office holders.