HARRISBURG, IL – As one of his first official acts of being in office, State Sen. Dale Fowler (R-Harrisburg) voted for a meaningful change in the Illinois Senate rules on Jan. 11.
“I have made a pledge to term limit myself and this rules change is a symbolic shift for the Illinois Senate. It is my intention to lead by example and I believe this is a good first step to show our constituents that Springfield is changing for the better,” Fowler said. “Stagnation and the status quo has been the ‘rule and not the exception’ for far too long. I appreciate the Senate’s leadership stepping up and serving as an example. We hope that the House of Representatives will follow suit.”
Illinois Senators approved a rules change which for the first time will begin term limiting leadership of the General Assembly’s upper chamber. The rules change will limit the offices of Senate President and Minority Leader to five terms.
Senate Resolution 3 is the legislative measure which codifies the rules change for the Illinois Senate. Senator Fowler is a cosponsor of the measure which was approved with a 58-0 vote.
Other legislative term limit measures have been introduced in the past, but have rarely even been called for a committee vote.