East Central Reporter

Legislation to impose term limits on House and Senate leadership positions is moving forward. 

The House approved the reform bill with 115 yes votes, 

Under House Bill 642, legislative leaders can serve no more than 10 years as Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, or Minority Leader of both the House and Senate. The bill passed with 115 “yes” votes and one abstention.

"The House has passed a bill to establish term limits on the legislative leaders in the Illinois General Assembly," Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich) said in an April 22 Facebook post. "This is just the beginning of the REFORMS that we need to move Illinois in a new direction." 

Former state Rep. Mike Madigan served as Illinois Speaker of the House for 36 years before being replaced in January amidst a federal bribery investigation. He was succeeded by Emanuel “Chris” Welch (D-Westchester), who pledged to hold the position for no more than 10 years. Madigan has not been charged and has admitted no wrongdoing. 

During Madigan's extensive reign as Speaker, he amassed immense personal power and contributed to the state's freefall into massive debt. Illinois went from having a perfect credit rating with just under $6 billion in unfunded pension debt to having the nation's lowest credit rating and upwards of $144 billion in pension debt.

The bill now heads to the State Senate for further consideration. It is expected to pass easily and would take effect at the start of the next General Assembly, which begins on the second Wednesday in January 2023.