Term Limits

27th Ward Chicago: Three Reasons To Impose Term Limits On Chicago’s Aldermen

The 27th Ward and the rest of Chicago has experienced a lot of change in the past couple years. The installation of red light cameras have doled out administrative violations that in some cases were unwarranted. The leasing of Chicago’s city parking system has put the city’s parking into the hands of a for-profit business. Meanwhile, career politicians hold Aldermen positions across the city since as early as 1973. Career politicians tend to focus more on funding their ongoing campaign rather than making decisions on what is best for the City of Chicago. At the Campaign for Change in the 27th Ward, we believe it is time for change in the number of terms an Alderman can serve.

Reason 1: Alderman Stays Focused On Helping The City

For most career politicians, they spend a lot of time raising campaign funds and maintaining support for the long haul. This takes time out of their schedule that should be focused on helping the City of Chicago. Term limits bring a whole new perspective to being an Alderman. In the case that an official is limited to two term limits, the Alderman only has one reelection campaign, and much more of their time can be used to help Ward residents.

Reason 2: New Representatives Bring Fresh Ideas

The Aldermen have fewer new ideas the more disconnected they become from what life was life was like before politics. To keep up with the culture, they must rely on the people to communicate with the office. However, when politicians are cutting off communication with the people, as is the case with the 27th Ward, they will quickly lose relevance to the current culture. Term limits ensure that fresh ideas from new politicians will be brought into Chicago’s government.

Reason 3: Reconnects The Government To The People

With term limits, the government is naturally reconnected back to the people since the length of time between normal city life and political life is much shorter. There is no longer a huge divide that exists between career politicians, and those that have to live with their decisions. Clearly Chicago is not headed in a positive direction, and it is time to give the government back to the people.