British historian Lord Acton obviously wasn't thinking about the Illinois Legislature when he wrote, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." He said that in 1887.

But the phrase continues to contain a lot of truth - especially when applied to the leadership of the Legislature.

That's why it is important to pursue the idea of limiting the amount of time a person can be president of the Illinois Senate or speaker of the Illinois House.

Emil Jones has been president of the Senate since 2003. He was Senate minority leader for a decade prior to that.

Michael Madigan has been speaker of the House since 1983 except for a brief two years when Republicans were in power and he served as minority leader.

The power wielded by those who hold these two positions - regardless of their political party - is formidable and highly questionable in a democratically elected body.

It's not simply a matter of committee assignments or similar appointments. The House speaker and Senate president - in practice - have the power to decide which bills make it to the floor for a vote. To varying degrees they also dole out campaign money and they dole out taxpayer money.

Because of the power they exercise, members of their parties are reluctant to break ranks and go against them. A case in point is House Bill 1, the ethics bill that was co-sponsored by just about every member of the state Senate but which Jones effectively blocked from coming to a vote.

But the height of arrogance and the best - or should we say worst? - example of power corrupting absolutely was when Jones refused to allow the Senate to vote on the governor's amendatory veto of the budget last year, contrary to procedures spelled out in the Constitution.

That's what we mean by the corruption of power - not necessarily corruption in terms of collecting bribes under the table but a corruption of one's sense of right and wrong that causes some in these positions to use their power as if they are dictators rather than members of an elected body.

The constitutional amendment introduced by state Rep. Patricia Reid Linder, R-Sugar Grove, would have limited individuals to a total of 10 years as either House speaker or Senate president.

A similar measure introduced by Sen. Matt Murphy, R-Palatine, also would have applied the 10 year limit to the posts of House minority leader and Senate minority leader and would have limited an individual to a combined total of 14 years in two or more of those offices.

Neither measure would apply to service before the second Wednesday in January 2010, so they are not directly aimed at the current office holders. But those office holders and their conduct show the benefit of having such limits.

Although it is too late for either proposed amendment to be on the November ballot, the idea should be pursued in the future or through a change in House and Senate rules - even though changing the rules is unlikely to happen unless and until there is a change in power.