Will County Gazette

Illinois veteran state Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) has grown tired of all the double-talk he insists he hears on the subject of masks mandates.

“I want to offer a couple of things to the Pritzker administration,” Batinick recently opined. “As many of you know, some of you might not have been here at the time, but we had some conversations early on in the pandemic about the use of masks. And I thought that it was important for us as leaders in the state to kind of follow the rules that we were putting in place. And it was a bad form when throughout the country you saw instances of politicians not following their own rules.”

Batinick is wondering why mask rules coming from Springfield remain so stringent across Illinois at a time when they seem to be relaxing everywhere else.

“We followed the science,” he added. “And I think we did we did a good job regarding the mask usage. And the CDC came out Thursday with some new relaxed guidelines and the Pritzker administration came out with those guidelines.”

State Rep. Adam Niemerg (R-Teutopolis) is among those who see things just as Batinick seems to.

“I think we’re at a point in time where we can start lifting these ordinances in a wholesale fashion and people have to take precautions based on their individual risks and decide whether or not they’re going to avoid crowds or wear masks based on the circumstance,” Niemerg said in a recent House floor speech where he called for an end to mask wearing among lawmakers in session.

Niemerg is now supporting House Bill 4080, which seeks to amend the General Assembly Operations Act by providing that “the wearing of masks shall not be required for any member of the House of Representatives, or the staff thereof, while present on the floor of the House of Representatives.”

Niemerg argues such legislation is long overdue for the state, pointing to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention now pushing for updated masking guidelines that establish individuals who have been fully vaccinated no longer need to wear masks indoors.

Batinick is in total agreement.

“It's time to open up, time for people to go to work,” he said. “It's time for us to get out with our friends. It's time to help our mental health. The CDC guidelines are pretty clear. If you're vaccinated, you don't need a mask inside. And I would urge this body to take up that thought."