Will County Gazette

In his six years of being in the General Assembly, veteran state Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) can't think of a more important time for being in Springfield.

“As crazy as things are, I think that everyone is served better by going down and talking these things through the normal process as opposed to what we see happening now,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “The voice of the people needs to be heard.”

Up until now, Batinick argues that everything done by Gov. J.B. Pritzker related to the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be aimed at having the opposite effect, including now threatening to strip counties of federal funding and prosecuting small business owners who seek to defy his timeline in terms of restarting their economies.

“The small business industry is getting absolutely crushed and no one can understand why you can sell shoes at Walmart but can’t do so at a ma and pop store that probably won’t ever have more than a few people there at any one time,” he said. “Besides the governor picking winners and losers, it just escapes all logic.”

Batinick is hopeful that the next few days will mark the start of changing times.

“I think we need a negotiated way of reopening Illinois that takes into account the diverse nature of who we are,” he said. “People are dying because of the lockdown as well, and that’s not being taken into consideration nearly enough. Whether it's suicide, depression, people not being able to get cancer treatment, being locked in poverty or whatever, it all has a major impact in a negative way. I would say we need a holistic approach to solving this problem that looks at everything and the impact it stands to have in every way."