Voters to Have Their Say on Arlington Heights Board Term Limits

Bill Gnech knocked on a lot of doors to gather the hundreds of signatures on a petition asking for a binding referendum to establish term limits on the Arlington Heights village board.

“It’s almost like running for office. This term limit thing almost becomes a person. I’ve walked from the northern part of town to the southern part,” Gnech said. “It was a long process. When I turned it in yesterday, it was a real sense of relief.”

The referendum has support from [some] candidates running in the spring elections, Gnech said.

"I agree with term limits, I actually signed [Bill's] petition back in September before I decided to run for mayor of Arlington Heights," said Mark Hellner, who is one of three candidates running replace Mayor Arlene Mulder, who has served chosen not to run again. 

Mayor Mulder has been in office for 22 years while some trustees have been in office between 12 to 20 years, Gnech said.

"If the limits that are being proposed are instated, seven out of nine people [on the board now] would be past that threshold," Hellner said. 

When asked about term limits, mayoral candidate Ron Drake put it simply. 

"If it's good enough for the president of the United States, it's good enough for any elected official in Arlington Heights," Drake said. 

Thomas Hayes also is running for mayor, and has been a village trustee for 22 years.

"I am not in favor of mandated term limits, residents decide the term limits when they vote," Hayes said. "They [term limits] could actually result in the loss of good community servants." 

Hayes added there is an inherent value in people who provide a historical perspective on issues, and that developing relationships that accomplish goals takes time.

Village Clerk Rebecca Hume  said the 79-page petition was turned in Monday. The signature requirement is met, but the village needs to make sure the petitions are complete and correct, including the format of the question.

As long as everything is in order, the referendum question will appear on the April 9 ballot, she said.

The question states: “We, the residents, of Arlington Heights, Il., in the county of Cook, require the village of Arlington Heights put a two four-year term limit (8 year lifetime) by putting a binding referendum on the ballot for village president and village trustee on the April 9 consolidated election.”

Gnech, a photographer who owns a studio in town, started gathering signatures after becoming frustrated over flooding in his neighborhood. He felt the board did not listen to him or his neighbors, and did not reach out to help them.

“I was just kind of fed up,” he said. “It started as 'let’s see if I can get signatures' and I went out and started knocking on doors. All of a sudden, I started filling out pages and it kept getting bigger.”

“I’m not a political person, I’m just a citizen,” Gnech said. “I was really upset about what was happening in local government. This is not a personal thing,” Gnech said.

Setting term limits opens the door for new trustees to come on board with new ideas, said Gnech, who said he plans to run for village trustee in two years. He said he would only seek two terms if elected.

Gnech plans to help educate voters about the referendum. He has designed logos that will be posted in downtown businesses to make residents aware of the question that is expected to be on the April ballot.