Sangamon Sun

The Illinois House will be voting on some proposed rules, Wednesday.

The changes to the House rules being proposed are about the advancement of bills to committees, remote committee hearings, and term limits on legislative leaders.   

Republicans say the suggested updates do not substantially modify the rules during Speaker Mike Madigan’s tenure.

"With the exception of allowing remote committee meetings during the pandemic, the House Rules are functionally identical to the Madigan-led sessions of the past,” House GOP spokesperson Eleni Demertzis said in a statement, according to The Center Square. “The speaker retains centralized control over every bill, amendment, or motion.

“Nothing in these House Rules improve transparency or bring sunlight to legislative proceedings,” Demertzis further said. “The same problems previously pointed out by good government advocates – like taking a midnight vote on a several-hundred-page amendment or budget only moments after it has been filed – are allowed by and re-authorized in these Rules for the next two years."

Notably, the proposal on term limits states that “no member may be elected as Speaker for more than five General Assemblies (ten years), including any term in which the member was elected to fill a vacancy in the office; provided that such service before the commencement of the 102nd General Assembly shall not be considered in the calculation of the member's service.”

These are the current thresholds but Madigan was the speaker for all terms except two years since 1983 until Rep. Chris Welch replaced him last month.