Bourbonnais trustee starts petition drive for term-limit referendum

Trustee Craig Toepfer says he has started collecting signatures for a petition seeking a referendum to limit the Bourbonnais mayor and trustees to three consecutive four-year terms, WVLI reported Nov. 12. For either covered office, three four-year terms would amount to 12 consecutive years. The village says trustees currently serve overlapping four-year terms.

The Village of Bourbonnais lists Toepfer as a trustee and says its board includes a mayor, clerk and six trustees, with trustees elected at-large. If the question reaches voters and is adopted, it would affect future eligibility for the mayor and trustees.

The broadcast reports that Toepfer had begun signature collection, but does not establish that a petition was filed or that a question qualified for ballot placement. The announcement does not change current term rules. Toepfer said he believes term limits help keep ideas fresh and described the response as overwhelmingly positive; that characterization is his, not an independently measured public response.