Will County Gazette

The last bill sponsored by Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) passed the House with unanimous support. He had announced in November he won't run for re-election.

"I was happy to see my last bill to pass through the House will help our local police officers. It has been an honor to see my legislation pass through these halls and head to the Governor's desk for the past seven years," Batinick said in a press release on his website. "I'm grateful to my constituents and fortunate to have seen ideas turn into change in the Statehouse to make Illinois a better place to live."

Under Senate Bill 3785, county correctional officers will be able to transfer pension credits. "SB 3785 will allow members of pension funds established in Article 3 of the Illinois Pension Code to transfer accumulated creditable service from the Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund for service as a county correctional officer or as a person employed by a participating municipality who performs law enforcement-related administrative duties," according to a press release from Batinick's office.

Batinick had announced back in November he would not be seeking another term, the Chicago Sun Times reported. “This was never meant to be a career for me personally. I certainly respect people who are there longer and do hard work, and there’s a lot of good people down there, but I’m kind of a ‘move up or move out’ guy, and I’m choosing to move out," Batinick told the Sun Times. His plans include returning to the private sector.

The first piece of legislation Batinick sponsored that became law was Senate Bill 810 in the 99th General Assembly. Gov. Bruce Rauner signed the bill into law in 2015, shortening the amount of time an applicant for a public adjuster license must wait to attempt the examination a second time from 90 days to 7 days.