Will County Gazette

House Republican Floor Leader Mark Batinick argues Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s latest handling of the COVID-19 crisis – shutting down high school sports – goes a long way in proving what he’s been saying all along.

“Like I’ve been saying from the start, we should be in Springfield and there should be hearings about the way we’ve handled the virus from the beginning,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette. “I don’t see how anyone can argue with that.”

Pritzker recently doubled down on his decision not to allow most student-athletes to take the field over COVID-19 concerns, sparking protests from parents, students and coaches all across the state.

The Illinois High School Association fired off a letter to Pritzker requesting that they be allowed “to resume control over determining the resumption of sports and activities.” Currently, the two sides are allowing teams across the state to practice this month under specific COVID-19 guidelines. But the Chicago Public School system isn’t part of that agreement, meaning even if the governor were to have a change of heart there’s no guarantee those schools would be  able to resume play by the fall.

Batinick argues it’s a question all elected officials in Springfield should have to answer to and he can think of just one reason that isn’t the case.

“The only reason we aren’t in Springfield right now is because Mike Madigan doesn’t want us there and we all know why that is,” he said.

The longtime House speaker now finds himself at the center of a federal corruption probe involving ComEd and a pay-for-play scheme in which all the perks are purported to have been steered to Madigan. 

A bipartisan special House committee is now looking into the actions of the state’s longest-running lawmaker to determine if sanctions – up to expulsion – are warranted.