State Representative Joe Sosnowski, R-Rockford, issued the following statement today following adoption of House Rules for the 102nd General Assembly, which could limit any legislator from serving more than 10 years as Speaker of the House or House Minority Leader:
“After Mike Madigan served 36 of the last 38 years as Speaker of the House, this change in the House Rules is a step in the right direction, but we can and should do more. The fact is, House Rules can easily change every two years. If we truly want to enforce real term limits on legislative leaders, we should pass bipartisan legislation sponsored by Democratic Representative Anthony DeLuca and Republican Representative Tony McCombie. Their bill, HB 642, would impose 10-year term limits on legislative leaders in both chambers, including Speaker of the House, President of the Senate, and Minority Leader of the House and Senate. If passed, their bill would take effect starting in January 2023. I am filing similar legislation that would start the term limits clock this year. I encourage my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to work with me to pass enforceable term limits on legislative leaders into law during this session.”
Representative Sosnowski serves the 69th District, which includes portions of Boone and Winnebago Counties.