Will County Gazette

Illinois state Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) wishes he and his colleagues in Springfield could repeal one law for every one of the 250 new ones set to take effect on Jan. 1.

“We have an active legislature in Springfield and that’s not always a good thing,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “There’s no question, we’ve got too many laws in Illinois. What we need is smarter regulation, and not necessarily more of it 'just because.'”

The fact that so many of the new laws have to do with new or added taxes only make matters worse for the veteran lawmaker.

“The people of this state are taxed too much as it is,” Batinick said. “But here we are, adding even more laws for the sole purpose of being able to tax people more and take even more of their hard-earned money.”

Batinick points to a new law that will triple the tax on Uber or Lyft rides in the downtown Chicago area to a full $3 as a prime example of the perils of tax-and-spend policymaking.

“It’ll be interested to see how much that stifles the market,” he said. “Tripling the tax on anything and in any industry is bound to have an effect on the negative side as a whole. Government should not be in the business of making it harder for businesses to operate. Everyone wins when it’s just the opposite.”

Batinick said all the laws and regulations have already come at a steep price.

“It’s no secret why we’re losing population or why outmigration has become such a problem in this state,” Batinick said. “People are looking for relief, and in Springfield that’s been hard to come by.”