Will County Gazette

Republican House Floor Leader Mark Batinick believed that Illinois' dwindling population still hasn't hit rock-bottom.

"We've had bad policy going back now, and it continues to drive more people out of this state," Batinick (R-Plainfield) told the Will County Gazette. "The sad thing is nothing is likely to change anytime soon. We used the recent lame-duck session to double down on crazy, making government more expensive and the state less safe."

Batinick suggested the crime bill passed in January makes the state less attractive by handcuffing law enforcement and setting the stage for higher taxes based on mandates, such as requiring officers to wear body cameras by 2025.

The Republican lawmaker added he's not surprised that Illinois is one of the states dealing with the highest number of residents moving out, based on new annual studies. Two of the country's largest moving companies reported that upward of 60% of interstate moves handled by their operations in Illinois were of the outbound variety.

With taxes and "job-related reasons" topping the list of reasons given by many for deciding to out Illinois in their rear-view mirror, U-Haul researchers also found that Illinois ranks second-to-last in the country for inbound moves.

Batinick said he knows what needs to come next if the state is ever to shake free from its doldrums.

"We need to stop doubling down on stupid and earnestly begin the hard work of making our government more efficient, with less taxes and less corruption," he said. "We need to give our people reason to have faith in government again. Right now, there's a lack of faith, and it's easy to see why that is."

While Batinick said the move to replace Mike Madigan (D-Chicago) as House speaker is a start in the right direction, he also doesn't see it as an end-all solution.

"Even with Madigan out, it won't matter if we still have the majority party promoting bad ideas," he said. "Madigan or no Madigan, we've got to get to doing what's in the best interest of the most people."