Maya Kinatukara
“I agree -there should be term limits for mayor and aldermen. I think that the use of term limits could have fresher ideas and fresh people come in who have more to offer the community. So, I definitely think there should be some turn-over in terms of the mayor and alderman.”
Diondai Brown-Whitfield
“No, I really don’t think there should be a limit on the terms that they serve. I feel that the people should be more educated about their rights and their responsibilities as citizens of this country. And they should be aware that their voice does make a difference. Their vote does count and they should keep the issues at hand. They should get out and vote. You can’t get upset if the people that you want to win don’t. I think the people need to come out of the house and show how they feel by voicing their opinion and voting.”
Patricia Rae Easley
“I think that term limits should be in place. In Chicago, it seems like there is a monarchy, whereas if you have a certain last name or you’re affiliated with a certain type of group, you automatically get in. A lot of times, they feel ‘I’m going to be here forever.’ But if term limits were enforced, that would force people to work. Then, we could have more people put into place. If someone stays in office until they die, or become incapacitated like in the case of [Cook County Board] President John Stroger, everybody is running around like a ‘chicken with their head cut-off’. Nobody knows what to do because we’ve had one person in power forever. People aren’t groomed to take over. So once they are not in there it is like starting over from scratch. But if term limits were enforced while that politician was in office they would be grooming their successor and the productivity of our overall government
Linda Clarke
“Yes, I think that there should be term limits, simply, because there are so many capable people out here that can do the job. Sometimes the city [and] the community needs a fresh look and a fresh outlook on things. As far as the limit, it should be probably four years. I think four years is a good time for a capable person to get things done; get things running the right way and be able to pass that information on. Now, if that person is so excellent that nobody wants a change maybe there could be some kind of concession, but I think definitely there should be some term limits.”
Patrick Easley
“I do think there should be terms for mayor and aldermen because they should have a new face every once in a while instead of the same guy. So then, different opinions can be developed . They should serve no more than three
Glenn Harris
“It depends on how well the politician is doing in that position. I think it should be every year. Every year the people should vote and decide whether that politician should stay in place. That would force the politicians to produce and not take our votes for granted because a lot of times you see politicians get in place and feel like they have made it. They feel like they don’t have to produce.”
Cheryl Anderson
“I think that elected officials should have term limits because it would keep corruption down and keep ideas new and fresh. With term limits, one can’t just keep maintaining their own personal interest, which is usually what happens after an elected official gets comfortable in that position. If there were at least two terms ,that one can serve. I think that’s enough time for you to get in, do your political platform and then move on.”
