Will County Gazette

State House Republican Floor Leader Mark Batinick shudders to think what could happen if Democrats calling for defunding police departments across Illinois and the nation ever get their way.

“I fear this will only lead to further the divide where the upper class resides in gated communities with private security and the rest are left mostly unprotected,” Batinick said. “I consider myself pretty open-minded, but I just can’t wrap my head around this one.”

The great debate began in the wake of George Floyd's death in Minneapolis on Memorial Day, leading to protests and violence across the country. Minneapolis City Council members were among the first to raise the prospect of doing away with police entirely, with the measure quickly gaining the support of the U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota) and more recently the leaders of the Chicago Public Schools.

“If anything additional funding for things like more training, bonuses for great policing, improved equipment, makes more sense to me,” Batinick added.  

Meanwhile, Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker has stressed what frustrated residents really want is change.

“They want fundamental change in the way that police operate,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “You have to think about, what are the methods by which people can be disciplined if they’re not going to get disciplined by their own police departments, if the investigations are taking place by a police department that may not want to hold some of their officers accountable for the kind of behavior that I think we would all find reprehensible.”

A growing number of Congressional Black Caucus members have called for a special session to deal with the issue of police accountability and social justice, but thus far legislative leaders have been noncommittal.