Highland Park voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to limit the mayor and city council members to two cumulative four-year terms in each office. The City Council unanimously put the binding question on the ballot June 29, after discussions in May and June, according to the City of Highland Park. The vote comes as Mayor Nancy Rotering seeks a fifth term and Councilmember Annette Lidawer prepares to challenge her in the April 2027 mayoral election.
What the proposed limits would mean
The proposal treats service as mayor and as a council member separately. A person who reaches the council limit could still seek up to two full terms as mayor. It also makes an exception for someone who takes office partway through a term: that person could serve two additional full four-year terms, potentially totaling about 10 years in office, the Chicago Tribune reported.
The effect on current officials turns on how prior service is counted. The Tribune reports that Public Act 101-0114 requires limits adopted by referendum to operate prospectively, which would mean Rotering and other incumbents could serve two additional full terms if the measure passes. The city’s referendum page does not spell out that transition rule. In a separate Broadview case, the Illinois Official Reports describe a court upholding prospective eligibility rules for a village-president term-limit referendum. That case involved a different town and office, so it is not a ruling on Highland Park’s proposal.
If voters approve the measure, its prospective effect would not prevent Rotering from pursuing the fifth term she has announced. She has said she supports letting residents decide whether to adopt limits, while arguing that elections already give voters a way to remove officials and that experience in office has value, the Tribune reported. Lidawer supports the proposal, saying regular turnover could make it easier for potential candidates to plan a run and challenge incumbents, according to the same report.
A local comparison—and a broader debate
Highland Park would not be the only North Shore municipality with voter-approved limits, but the rules differ. Skokie voters approved a maximum of three terms for mayor, clerk and trustees in November 2024, according to the Village of Skokie. That decision is a nearby precedent for using a referendum, not a direct match for Highland Park’s proposed two-term limits or its separate counting of mayoral and council service.
Supporters in Highland Park frame the measure as a way to encourage competition and leadership turnover. The local League of Women Voters opposes term limits and has argued instead for stronger participation in spring municipal elections, the Tribune reported. The disagreement is not only about how long an official should serve, but also whether limits or voter engagement are the better check on incumbency.
The vote arrives amid a mayoral tenure that would be unusual in the city’s recent history: if Rotering wins in April, she would reach 20 years in office. The Tribune reported that Robert Michael Buhai, the previous longest-serving mayor, held the office for 12 years, from 1975 to 1987. The term-limits question will therefore be decided before Highland Park’s next mayoral election, but the proposal’s reported prospective application means it would not by itself bar Rotering’s current bid.
