Will County Gazette

State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) thinks a return to life as normal for state residents starts with lawmakers making a return to Springfield.

“I fully support any legislation that has us going back to Springfield and working together to come up with a plan for dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic and safely reopening our state economy,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “I would like to see that happen as soon as possible; I think that’s where things need to start.”

As the restrictions Gov. J.B. Pritzker enacted as part of the stay-at-home order he instituted in March and recently extended through the end of May persist, Batinick said people’s frustrations will grow and tensions will continue to mount.

Hundreds of protesters recently staged demonstrations in front of state capital buildings in Springfield and downtown Chicago where they demanded that the governor pull the plug on the statewide stay-at-home order that has caused countless small businesses across the state to shutter after they were deemed to be nonessential businesses by the government.

“I think most people will continue to comply with the mandates, but at the same time I think things are going to get harder as more people grow concerned about their livelihoods and the impact comes to be unavoidable,” Batinick said. “As long as things make common sense, people will try to go along and when they don’t the problem will become greater. That’s why I’ve been pushing for a regionalization to dealing with the crisis. The truth is what’s happening in Chicago and a few other hot spot areas is not the same thing that’s happening in other parts of the state.”