Will County Gazette

Republican House Floor Leader Mark Batinick is pressing Gov. J.B. Pritzker to consider the full magnitude of his COVID-19 decisions.

“There has to be a more balanced approach,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “Certainly, there are the health concerns you always have to keep mindful of, but this crisis is affecting lives in plenty of other ways, too. I don’t think all the policies we’ve seen put in place over time have always taken that fact into consideration.”

Citing rising infection rates that have increased positive cases in 11 counties, Pritzker recently warned tougher restrictions could be on the way for a state still reeling from the governor’s shutdown order. Again, Batinick is imploring the governor to think before he acts.

“First off, he shouldn’t be making all these critical decisions all by himself,” he said. “He’s doing everything he can to us out of session so he can have more of a voice in what’s happening. We’ve got to consider the whole state in the decisions that we make and not just base everything on what’s happening in certain places.”

Batinick said the governor’s one-size-fits-all approach to things isn’t the only development that’s left many residents feeling frustrated by actions he's taken since the virus emerged.

“Small business owners feel targeted by much of what he’s done, especially the way they’ve been forced to shut down while big box operations have been allowed to continue operations,” he said. “There’s no science behind shutting down all small businesses and leaving the Walmarts of the world totally unaffected. When it comes to regulations, by and large people are willing to do what’s responsible, but there can’t be a two-tier system what only hurts the small business guy.”