Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) | Batinick's website
Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) | Batinick's website
Had enough?
Tired of Illinois politicians caught in investigation after investigation, snared by prosecutors and admitting their criminal behavior while the state faces debt, disarray and desperate times?
State Rep. Mark Batinick thinks most people are, and they are ready for change. Batinick (R-Plainfield) is one of several Republican lawmakers who joined together to call for meaningful reform in the state.
At an April 15 press conference in Springfield, they called on Illinois residents to support Reimagine Illinois, a new campaign dedicated to fighting corruption in the state.
“As we know, there's an overarching if constantly ignored need for change and reform in Illinois. We saw it in November when voters overwhelmingly said stop trying to raise taxes to fix the problems the General Assembly created,” Batinick said. “We see it every day when our friends, family and neighbors continue to leave Illinois for states with more opportunity and an honest government. While over 600 bills – and I think it's actually close to 700 bills – were approved out of committee and sent to the Illinois House floor for this week's debate. Nothing contained the substantive reforms that we need to take and move the state forward.”
He said the constant stream of stories of investigations, arrests and plea deals obscure the real work the elected officials were sent to the Capitol to address.
Speaker Mike Madigan finally departed after 50 years in Springfield, 36 as leader of his party. Madigan was embroiled in corruption investigations that led to federal charges against ComEd, which paid a $200 million fine after admitting to providing money, jobs and contracts to associates of the longtime speaker.
Batinick wants to focus on the state’s myriad issues and opportunities, not the entrenched figures who have been assembling power and wealth while Illinois stagnated.
“Issues like pension and property tax reform affect our constituents on a day-to-day basis,” he said. “We need to take legislation addressing these issues up on the House floor and debate approaches to solving our state's largest problems.”
Batinick is in his third term representing the 97th District, which includes sections of Oswego, Montgomery, Naperville, Plainfield, Bolingbrook, Joliet and Shorewood.
Batinick and his wife Ellen live in Plainfield with their five children.
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