Calumet City voters in April will write a new chapter in a long-running saga about term limits and mayoral eligibility.
The City Council voted 5-1 during a special meeting Jan. 17 to place a binding referendum on ballots for the April 4 consolidated election. Ald. James Patton dissented.
“I think it’s very confusing to the voters the way the question is worded,” Patton told me. “It asks about eliminating things that were voted on in two separate elections and does not actually tell them what they’re voting for.”
If voters approve the referendum, Mayor Thaddeus Jones would become eligible to continue serving as the city’s top elected official until 2037 instead of 2033. It would essentially reset the clock after voters overwhelmingly approved term limit restrictions on two previous occasions.
The question will appear as follows:
“Shall all qualifications and eligibility restrictions for the office of Mayor previously adopted by referendum on November 8, 2016 and November 3, 2020 be repealed and replaced with the following:
“‘Beginning with the 2025 Consolidated Election, no person shall be eligible to seek the nomination or election to, or to hold, the office of Mayor where that person has held the same elected office, excluding terms served prior to 2025, for three (3) or more consecutive four (4) year terms?'”
Jones did not respond to questions about the referendum. He was elected mayor in 2021 by defeating four-term incumbent Michelle Markiewicz Qualkinbush with 54% of the vote in a February primary. He had to wait for an Illinois Supreme Court ruling in March to see if those votes counted, then easily defeated a write-in challenger that April.
Jones also has been a state representative since 2011 and previously was a Calumet City alderman. Courts and lawmakers have considered municipal term limit restrictions, and a key concept has prevailed throughout legislation and court rulings.
Any new term limits must be proactive. That means if voters approve a measure limiting a mayor to two terms, the clock starts when the mayor begins serving a term after the restrictions were adopted. Years served as mayor before adoption of term limits may not be applied retroactively toward newly adopted restrictions.
Calumet City voters previously approved a referendum to limit mayors to three terms of four years each, or a total of 12 years. The upcoming referendum mentions that date the restrictions were approved. More than 72% of voters favored the term limit restrictions in the Nov. 3, 2020 election.
Since the restrictions were in effect when Jones took office in 2021, he would be prohibited from serving consecutive terms past 2033. The new referendum, if approved, would make Jones eligible for a fourth consecutive term if voters decide to reelect him.
Also in 2020, more than 68% of Calumet City voters approved another binding referendum question to prohibit anyone from running for mayor if that person also holds a paid, elected office created by the Illinois Constitution.
The measure was clearly aimed at preventing Jones from serving as both mayor and state representative. However, state legislation rendered the restriction moot.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker on June 17, 2021, signed Senate Bill 825, which amended the Illinois Election Code to prohibit municipalities from restricting elected village and city officers from also serving in an elected office created by the state constitution.
Such a restriction would affect not only Jones but other mayors in the south and southwest suburbs. State Rep. Kelly Burke, for example, in 2021 won election to also be mayor of Evergreen Park.
Lemont Mayor John Egofske recently was appointed to fill a legislative vacancy created by the resignation of former state Rep. Jim Durkin. Egofske said he would continue as mayor.
Until recently, Bridgeview Mayor Steve Landek was also a state senator, though he did not seek reelection to the General Assembly in 2022.
Patton seems to raise valid concerns. What is the point of the upcoming referendum, since Calumet City already has term limit restrictions in place? The measure appears to be a ploy to reset the clock and squeeze in a fourth term if Jones is able to win more elections.
Calumet City voters may be understandably confused by the question. They’re accustomed to seeing term limit referendum questions on ballots and have shown they overwhelmingly support them.
Why was a special meeting of the City Council needed on Jan. 17 to approve a resolution to place the referendum on ballots April 4? What is the purpose of the referendum, other than potentially giving Jones an opportunity to serve an additional four years as mayor?
In addition to emailing questions to Jones two weeks ago through a city representative and requesting responses, I also attended two recent City Council meetings that were marked by tension and debate over a new contract for garbage pickup.
I had hoped to talk to Jones in person about the term limits referendum. The city representative relayed my request to talk to the mayor but he did not make himself available to answer questions.
Ted Slowik is a columnist for the Daily Southtown.