Last week, Governor Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1536 into law as Public Act 101-0114. P.A. 101-114 amends the Illinois Municipal Code to establish certain restrictions on the imposition of term limits on municipal offices. The new law specifies that term limits can only be imposed prospectively (counting service in office only after a referendum is adopted) and not retroactively (counting someone’s service in office prior to a referendum being adopted). It also prohibits municipalities from counting service in one elected office to block service in a completely new office. The new law applies to any term limit imposed on or after November 8, 2016, and preempts home rule.
