Will County Gazette

Veteran Illinois state Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) is in damage control mode as the coronavirus outbreak continues to wreak havoc across the country.

“Our top concern has to be about safeguarding ourselves and our most vulnerable,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “We need to commit ourselves to whatever it takes to make that happen.”

Batinick is already hard at work doing his part, relentlessly urging seniors to stay home and make use of his “Helping Hands” district program for anything seniors may need.

Batinick said the idea for “Helping Hands” comes from being in tune with his district and sensing what the greatest needs are.

“Right now it is essential for seniors to stay in their homes,” Batinick said. “The coronavirus is continuing to spread and we need everyone to be taking this threat seriously—especially our seniors because they are at an incredible risk. We are all in this together and we need to hold each other accountable. I want neighbors to check on neighbors. I want seniors to be able to ask for help, which is what my office is here for.”

Batinick knows the job hardly ends there.

“We need to be worried about a lot of things, including how we’re going to break down all these barriers that have had to go up and get back to make things a little easier for people,” he said. Going forward, the biggest thing I worry about is the debt toll we’ll face from all the economic damage and the question of if it’ll be a number we can handle. Illinois was already facing its share of struggles and this just stands to make things that much more challenging."