Kendall County Times

Outgoing Illinois State Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) thanked his constituents for their support and said it had been a privilege to serve in the General Assembly.

“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve the 97th District in the House of Representatives," he said in a statement posted Jan. 10 on his website. "I spent my time in the House fighting to improve the quality of life for everyone across our great state and fight for the great people in it."

Batinick, 52, was first elected to the General Assembly in 2014. A resident of Plainfield, he just finished his fourth term.

In a video posted Jan. 6 to his Facebook page, Batinick spoke for other Republicans in criticizing a new budget implementation bill that had been sent to the House which included pay increases for many state workers. In addition, Batinick took issue with the timing of the bill.

"Tonight, on a Friday, House Democrats dropped a 170-page budget implementation bill including an 18% raise for legislators," he said in the video. "This bill did not see the light of day and is a Springfield setup. What happened tonight was a disgrace and I voted against a pay raise for legislators while hardworking Illinoisans are trying to make ends meet this winter."

Batinick also complained that the measure was placed at a time when few were present, claiming Democrats wanted to "sneak" the measure past their constituents with "174 pages on a Friday night."

"The audacity (of) what we're doing," he said. "I don't see any press in the press box," he said, adding that there were two reporters present and no one was in the gallery.

Batinick said that he had spoken to someone who works with disabled people, noting that those workers didn't receive an 18% raise, even though "they do important work" as legislators do, calling the bill "Christmas in January" for lawmakers.

He said that despite the fact that Democrats might hope the public wouldn't notice the bill, "they will notice," he said. "Vote no."