State Rep. Mark Batinick | File photo
State Rep. Mark Batinick | File photo
State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) is relieved to see Democrats in Springfield finally reach a point he’s convinced they should have arrived at long ago.
“We all should be demanding public hearings and an accounting for the way the governor continues to do things,” Batinick told the Will County Gazette of his handling of COVID-19. “As members of the General Assembly, we’re supposed to be involved in these kinds of critical decisions. It’s why we have three branches of government with equal powers.”
Citing rising infection rates, Pritzker recently moved to unilaterally reenact COVID-19 restrictions that include banning indoor bar and restaurant service in at least 24 counties spread across the state. Almost from the moment it was announced, the move has raised the ire of many small business owners still reeling from the impact of the governor’s initial shutdown. As stakes have clearly grown higher, Democrats are now among those demanding the governor hold public hearings to justify his actions.
“It could be that they’re hearing more of the frustrations of their constituents about all of this,” Batinick added of Democrats' sudden change of heart in pushing the governor for answers. “The bottom line is these restrictions are bad for all small business owners.”
Batinick argues the governor hasn’t made things any easier on himself with his lack of transparency.
“Anytime there’s a lack of transparency in whatever you’re trying to do, you’re going to get more pushback,” he said. “You’re always going to get better results with more transparency, but we know so little about any of what the governor these decisions on.”
Batinick has long been one of the most vocal critics in Springfield over what he sees as the governor’s lack of transparency, including blasting him over his decision not to allow high school student-athletes to compete during the fall semester.
“Nobody knows what he can justify because we haven’t seen any of the data he used to make any of these decisions,” he said. “There just has to be more transparency.”
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