Will County Gazette

Veteran state Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) doesn’t mince words when it comes to voicing where he thinks the state should be in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s five-phase reopening plan.

“I think we should probably be beyond all the stages,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “We’re probably at the point where it’s as good as it’s going to get in terms of mitigating COVID-19. We’ve got to get back to allowing people to make a living for themselves.”

Batinick isn’t alone in his pointed assessment, as several GOP lawmakers recently signed off on a letter to the governor imploring him to hit the pedal on the state’s reopening plan. With the state now in Phase 3 of Pritzker’s five-phase Restore Illinois plan, the letter further urges him to adopt a 14-day timeline between phases rather than the 28-day timeline currently in place.

Under current guidelines, the earliest the state could see Phase 4, which would allow indoor dining at restaurants and groups of up to 50 to convene, is June 26.

“I’ve never bought into the governor’s plan,” Batinick added. “Sure, we need to take protective measures, but I’ve never thought shutting down our entire economy was the answer.”

Batinick said he’s never quite figured out or understood what the governor’s motivation for doing so was, especially for as long as he has, but he thinks it’s fair that more people are now calling him out about it.

“And from what I’m hearing, more and more of them are starting to do what they think is best for themselves and their families,” he said. “I haven’t seen it with my own eyes, but I’ve definitely heard the stories about people reopening their businesses to give them a chance at surviving.”

As of June 14, Illinois reported 131,871 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 6,289 deaths. Will County has had 6,140 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 302 fatalities.