State Representative David S. Olsen (R-Downers Grove) has signed on as the Chief Co-Sponsor of new legislation that would put 10-year term limits in place for legislative leaders.
HB 4194 would change state law to allow a member of the General Assembly to serve no more than 10 years as Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, President of the Senate or Senate Minority Leader. “The people of Illinois are clamoring for term limits, so I am pleased to be a leading sponsor of this new bill,” said Olsen. “I feel the bill will help restore some accountability to Springfield and prevent any one individual from accumulating too much power within state government.”
House Speaker Mike Madigan is the longest-serving leader of any state or federal legislative body in the history of the United States, having served as Speaker of the Illinois House for all but two years since 1983. “We are experiencing a concentration of power in Illinois that is currently going unchecked,” Olsen said. “Term limits for legislative leaders would allow for a healthy turnover of leadership and ideas.”
If approved and signed into law, the provisions of the bill would take effect with the inauguration of the next General Assembly in 2019.