Sangamon Sun

Politicians in Illinois apparently aren't listening, and they don't want to leave, according to fixillinois.com, a website seeking signatures on a petition for term limits.

Fix Illinois is a people's movement to fix the state's political system that is urging residents to sign a petition on the site calling for limits on how long someone in an elected office position in the state can serve. 

A historical timeline on the site, called the History of Career Politicians in Illinois, says that in 2014, the state's General Assembly passed a law ensuring lawmakers get paid even during a budget impasse. That same year, the state Supreme Court threw out 600,000 signatures petitioning for term limits.

A video on the site says these term limits are needed. With at least a million signatures on the petition, it should make politicians take notice and be accountable, the video states.

Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner also appears in a video on the site saying change starts with signing a term petition.

"Let's all sign the term limits petition," Rauner says on the video. "Go to fixillinois.com."

The site also says lawmakers are fighting only for their interests; they go to Springfield and never leave. Because of the way the legislative districts are drawn, they don't worry about re-election. And almost two-thirds won't even have an opponent come November, Fix Illinois claims. 

It's no wonder politicians have stopped listening, according to the site.

Fixillinois.com says insiders and special interests dominate Illinois, and too many politicians will do anything to hang on to power. Decades of mismanagement, corruption and insider deals have devastated the state.

The site includes findings from a Gallup poll that shows 25 percent of people in Illinois are confident in government, while 75 percent of adults nationally are for term limits. A Southern Illinois University poll also shows 80 percent of Illinois voters support term limits, according to the site. 

Fix Illinois says it's calling on Illinois politicians to take action and go to work on repairing the state, saying that too many career politicians have demonstrated they will go to great lengths to protect their power and the status quo.