Joliet residents raise idea of term limits for city council

Three residents on Tuesday urged the Joliet City Council to consider term limits.

The suggestion came at the end of a council meeting and with a council election two weeks away.

The three people speaking out on the topic included one of the candidates, Glenda Wright-McCullum.

But the discussion was led by John Sheridan, president of the Cunningham Neighborhood Council and a frequent commenter on city government and politics.

“I’m here tonight to start a discussion amongst the council and the voters of Joliet,” Sheridan said, reading from a prepared statement.

Term limits have not been a big issue in Joliet city government or in council elections. But Sheridan said it is a major issue across the U.S., and he intends to promote the cause in Joliet.

Sheridan said term limits enjoy wide support among voters and have been implemented in large cities and in other Illinois cities.

“The time is now to make this happen,” Sheridan said, adding that he would be back at future council meetings to speak on how term limits could be implemented in Joliet. “If the mayor and City Council get on board, it is a very simple process.”

Sheridan made his comments during a public comment period at the end of the meeting, when people are given up to four minutes to speak on any issue of their choosing.

The mayor and council members typically comment during the public comment period, but none of them responded directly to Sheridan.

Council member Susanna Ibarra, who is in her first term, used a subsequent section of the meeting for council comments to say she supported term limits.

Wright-McCullum, who is not currently a council member, used the public comment period to say that she supported term limits.

So did Willie Sellers, who has been an advocate in the past for policies to bring more city construction business to local minority contractors.

“I’d like to know how to go about getting term limits on the ballot, so people can get what they want,” Sellers told the council.

Sheridan said he believes Joliet voters would support term limits by a 2-1 margin if given an opportunity to vote on the matter.