This document summarizes research on term limits for elected executives and legislators nationwide and in Illinois. It finds that 20 of the largest US cities have term limits for executives, with 6 having absolute limits and 8 having consecutive limits. For legislators, 13 cities have term limits. In Illinois, several municipalities have enacted term limits via referendum, though Chicago has no limits. 16 proposals for legislative term limits have been introduced in the Illinois General Assembly. The average tenure for Illinois legislators is 8.5 years, with the Speaker serving over 29 years.

1. How Did We Get Here?
Term Limits Nationwide and in Illinois
Alden Loury, Senior Policy Analyst, BGA
Alex Gilewicz, Policy Associate, BGA

2. Research
• black-letter law of states for side-by-side
comparison
• Similar to BGA analysis for 2013 Integrity
Index
• Noted length, nature and implementation of
executive and legislative term limits
• Presence of term limits in 20 largest U.S. cities
and several Illinois municipalities
• Researched by law students with Kirkland &
Ellis in Summer 2013, updated by Alden Loury
and Alex Gilewicz

3. Definitions
• Absolute—Once a legislator or executive has
served the number of years or terms outlined by
the limits, they are ineligible to run for election to
that office again.
• Consecutive—An individual may serve in a given
position for the length of time set by the term
limits, then must leave the position. After a
period of time, the clock is reset, and the
individual can serve in that same position for the
same period of time.

4. Executive Term Limits

5. Legislative Term Limits

6. Implementation – States
• Constitutional Provision: Limits included in
original draft of current constitution or in
subsequent revisions of the constitution that
were not clearly introduced by citizen or
legislator ballot initiatives
• Initiative: Term limits amendment adopted after
being placed on the ballot by citizen petition
• Referendum: Term limits amendment adopted
after being placed on the ballot by the legislature

7. Implementation – Executive
• Constitutional Provision: 19 states
• AL, AK, DE, GA, HI, IN, KS, KY, LA, MD, MS, NV, NJ, NM,
NC, OR, SD, VA, WV
• Initiative: 10 states
• AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, KY*, MI, MT, OH, WY
• Referendum: 9 states
• ME, MO, NE, NC*, OK, PA, RI, SC, TN
*constitutional limit extended by ballot initiative or referendum

8. Implementation – Legislative
• Constitutional Provision: None
• Initiative: 13 states
• AZ, AR, CA, CO, FL, ME**, MI, MO, MT, NE, NV, OH, OK
• Referendum: 3 states
• LA, MO*, SD
*Missouri’s legislative limits were enacted by voter initiative and
modified by a legislatively-referred amendment
**Maine’s legislative limits are statutory, not constitutional

9. Overturned or Ruled Unconstitutional
• Idaho:
– Repealed in 2002 by the State Legislature
• Massachusetts:
– Repealed in 1997 by the State Supreme Court
• Oregon:
– Rule unconstitutional in 1995 and 2002 by U.S. Supreme Court and Oregon
Supreme Court, respectively
• Utah:
– Repealed in 2003 by the legislature
• Washington:
– Repealed in 1998 by the State Supreme Court
• Wyoming:
– Repealed in 2004 by the State Supreme Court
Source: National Conference of State Legislatures

10. Term Limits at the Local Level
• Most of the 20 largest U.S. Cities have limits of
some kind
• Chicago is the only city among the 10 largest U.S.
cities with no limits of any kind
• Chicago
– Richard M. Daley: 22 Years in office
– Richard J. Daley: 21 Years in office
– Ald. Ed Burke: 45 Years in the City Council
• New York City
– Contentious two-term limits endorsed by voters three
times since 1993

11. Executive Limits in Largest Cities
• Absolute: 6 cities
– Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, El
Paso, Memphis
• Consecutive: 8 cities
– New York
City, Houston, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San
Jose, Austin, Jacksonville, San Francisco
• None: 6 cities
– Chicago, Indianapolis, Columbus, Fort
Worth, Charlotte, Detroit

12. Legislative Limits in Largest Cities
• Absolute: 6 cities
– Los Angeles, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, El
Paso, Memphis
• Consecutive: 7 cities
– New York City, Houston, Phoenix, San
Jose, Austin, Jacksonville, San Francisco
• None: 7 cities
– Chicago, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Columbus, For
t Worth, Charlotte, Detroit

13. Illinois Local Municipalities
• Des Plaines, Downers Grove, Lake
Forest, Lombard, Niles, and Oak Lawn have all
established or extended municipal term limits
by referenda since 1998
• Municipal term limit referenda usually pass
(12 of 13 since 1998)
• Lyons abolished their term limits this year (a
previous attempt to abolish them failed in
2006)

14. Snapshot of Illinois
• Michael Madigan
– 43 years in office
– 4 years House Majority Leader
– 4 years House Minority Leader
– 29 years Speaker of the House
• Jim Durkin
– 16 years in office
– Under 1 year in leadership
• John Cullerton
– 12 years in House, 23 years in Senate (35 combined years in office)
– 5 years in leadership
• Christine Rodogno
– 17 years in office
– 5 years in leadership
Average Tenure of All Illinois General Assembly Members:
8.5 years

15. Illinois Senate

16. Illinois Senate with limits

17. Illinois House

18. Illinois House with limits

19. Proposed Legislation in Illinois
• In the 98th General Assembly, there have been 16
Joint Resolution Constitutional Amendment
proposals to introduce term limits in some form.
– 11 in House, 5 in Senate
• Since 2010, more leadership limit proposals
introduced in Illinois than in any other state
• The Committee for Legislative Reform and Term
Limits has been circulating petitions for a ballot
initiative to be placed on the ballot in November.

20. Conclusions?
• No single approach to term limits; vary widely in
length, form and implementation
• Legislative limits usually enacted by voter
initiatives
• Term limits popular with voters; legislative limits
not very popular with lawmakers
• Important to consider constitutional legality and
ramifications of these efforts, as we’ve seen in
Oregon, Massachusetts, Wyoming, Washington.
• Paul Hale will pick up with a focus on case law in
Illinois.