Court orders term limit filings by mid-August

The Chicago-based First District Appellate Court put the term limits question on the fast-track after the Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear the issue. The appeals court ordered up a complete briefing schedule to be completed by mid-August.

From the Appellate order:

Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner has pushed for the term limits question to get on the November ballot. The term limits initiative aims to impose eight-year term limits on state lawmakers. But in order to conform to an earlier Supreme Court ruling, the plan also would have increased the size of the Illinois House, reduced the size of the Senate and hiked the voting threshold on lawmakers to turn back gubernatorial vetoes.

The earlier Supreme Court ruling tossed a term limit proposal because it did not did not require procedural or structural changes to the state Legislature.

But even though Rauner’s initiative added the procedural and structural changes, Cook County Judge Mary Mikva said it still didn’t pass muster, ruling “any term limits initiative appears to be outside what is permissible,” under the state’s constitution.

Mikva’s ruling came after House Speaker Michael Madigan sponsored a legal challenge to Rauner’s proposal.

Appellate Court Order — Clark Et Al v State Board of Elections