Voters could decide whether Carpentersville trustees, president should have term limits

Carpentersville trustees are considering letting voters decide whether the village's elected officials should have term limits.

Trustee Kevin Rehberg has proposed placing a binding referendum question on an upcoming ballot that would cap any village board member's time in office at two four-year terms.

Rehberg, who was elected to his second full term last year, introduced the idea to the village board Tuesday. Several officials supported the concept, saying term limits would ensure Carpentersville and its governing body don't get stuck in the status quo.

"You need fresh new eyes. You need fresh new people on the board," Trustee Diane Lawrence said. "(By) having the same people, there isn't anything that's being changed."

The eight-year limit would apply to everybody on the board, including the village president, Rehberg said.

"If you can't get your ideas across in eight years, you're probably not being very efficient," he said.

In some towns with term limits, the board's elected leader can run for office an unlimited number of times to allow him or her to build up more power and experience, Rehberg said. But if a two-term limit is implemented in Carpentersville, Lawrence said she believes it should apply "across the board."

Of the current elected officials, only Trustee Paul Humpfer has served more than eight years. Lawrence and Village President John Skillman both were elected to their first terms last year, and the other three trustees have all been appointed within the last several months.

Rehberg initially was appointed to a vacant trustee seat in October 2012 before being elected to his first full term the following spring. He said the board was uninterested in discussing term limits during his first four years in office.

Trustees said they will revisit the term limit discussion at an upcoming meeting. If they agree to go to a referendum, the village likely would aim to put the question on the April 2019 ballot, Village Attorney Brad Stewart said, pointing to a time crunch for the November election.

Giving residents a chance to vote on the proposed policy change also could increase voter turnout, Rehberg said, especially because the results would be binding.

"You don't see a lot of local governments put that type of power into the voters' hands anymore," he said.