Term limits to be eased in Alsip, potentially benefiting controversial mayor

Looks like Alsip Mayor John Ryan might be able to stick around elected office a while longer.

A referendum in the south suburb overwhelmingly passed in the Nov. 3 general election that is set to expand term limits from three four-year terms to four four-year terms.

Of the nearly 5,000 votes cast on the referendum question, 3,139 or about 63% said “yes” to expanding term limits while 1,827 voted to keep things as is, according to a preliminary tally.

Ryan has been a controversial figure in recent years, as a federal investigation focused in part on contractors involved with Alsip’s municipal government. He is in the midst of a third term that would’ve been his last. But with the ballot question passing, he’s now able to run again in 2029 and serve out another term as mayor should he win.

Ryan supported extending the limits, which critics viewed as ironic given that Ryan pushed for the existing limits in 2016 when his political rival Patrick Kitching was Alsip mayor and Ryan was an ambitious trustee on the village board.

Kitching fought the initial term limit, arguing he was a full-time mayor and while limits at the federal and state levels make sense, they could prohibit someone at the local level from growing into and becoming better at the job.

But Ryan argued at the time: “The mayor made every attempt to obstruct voters’ rights. Just let the voters decide.”

The village board initially approved the ballot question, Kitching vetoed it and the village board then overrode the veto.

Of the 4,716 people who ended up voting on the 2016 referendum, 3,832 supported the limits, or more than 80%, according to election records.

Anthony Vazquez / Sun-Times

In August, the Alsip village board approved a resolution to place this question on last week’s ballot: “Shall the Village of Alsip modify its current term limits so that no person shall be eligible to seek election to, or hold the office of Village President (Mayor), Village Clerk, or Village Trustee if that person has already served four (4) consecutive four-year terms in that specific office, rather than the current limit of three (3) consecutive four-year terms?”

The resolution includes other wording similar to Kitching’s long-ago argument, saying “the Mayor and Board of Trustees recognize that maintaining experienced leadership while continuously encouraging qualified public service ensures efficient and stable municipal management.”

An extra four years in office would provide an obvious benefit for Ryan should he run again and win. He’d not only stay in power longer, he’d continue to get paid by taxpayers and accrue more service credits that would boost his public sector pension.

Ryan said of the referendum passing: "The voters have spoken definitively. Their mandate establishes this new standard based on the verifiable stability, management and over $500 million in economic development our administration has facilitated here since I was elected in 2017."

"We will continue focusing on growth that benefits every single resident and local institution in Alsip."

The recent election saw other local ballot questions on term limits, including in:

• Calumet Park, where a referendum passed with a 90% yes vote. The measure would make municipal officeholders “subject to new term limits prospectively” that would mean “no person may seek election to, or hold, the same office for more than three (3) consecutive, full, four (4) year terms.”
• Crestwood, where a referendum passed with 91% of voters in favor. The measure would limit elected officials to “no more than three (3) full four-year terms, beginning at the next municipal election.”
• Highland Park, where 75% of voters backed a referendum limiting municipal elected officials to two full four-year terms per office, “whether or not those terms were served consecutively.”
• Markham, where a referendum passed with 92% of voters in favor. The measure would mean no elected official can serve “in the same office for more than two (2) full four-year terms,” starting with the next local election.
• Niles, where a referendum was approved by 68% of voters instituting a 16-year term limit for trustees.

Other local suburbs already with term limits include Skokie and Tinley Park. Most major U.S. cities except Chicago have term limits for their mayors.