LaHood Can Sell Term Limits to Reluctant Politicians

LaHood Chief Co-Sponsor of Term Limits Legislation in the Illinois Senate



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 12, 2012
Contact: Rachel Bold (217) 557-8081

SPRINGFIELD – State Senator Darin LaHood (R-Dunlap) has signed on as Chief Co-Sponsor of Senate Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment 41, (SJRCA 41) a piece of legislation that would impose term limits on Illinois legislators.

Senator LaHood, who did not initially support term limits legislation, says witnessing how much control the current leadership has over the process in Springfield during the past year has changed his mind about the need for term limits. He also points to Illinois’ bleak fiscal outlook, highlighted by all three major credit ratings agencies – Moody’s, Standard & Poor’s, and Fitch Ratings, as further evidence that term limits are necessary to encourage turnover in state leadership.

“Over the last year I’ve watched as state debt has grown to more than $9 billion with millions more in unpaid bills. On top of this, Illinois has the most unsustainable public pension system in the nation. These problems are not new, they’re a long time coming and the result of allowing the same stale leadership to continue to hold this state in a death grip,” says LaHood.

SJRCA 41, which was introduced by State Senator Ron Sandack (R-Downers Grove), would amend the Illinois Constitution to limit an individual to ten years of service in the General Assembly. Term limits are not a new idea. Florida, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio have all recently enacted term limits on legislators. According to LaHood, greater turnover in the legislature gives more citizens the opportunity to become engaged in the process, have a greater appreciation for, and become more invested in state government.

“The longer a legislator stays in office, the more power they gain, and the harder it gets to elect someone new. A large majority of legislators who are elected will continue to be re-elected indefinitely regardless of their effectiveness as a representative of the people,” says LaHood. “Term limits promote the values of democratic representation and equality, and make it easier for the electorate to bring in legislators with new ideas and a fresh perspective on state issues.”


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