ENDORSEMENT: Mark Batinick for Illinois House in 97th District

We like that Batinick wants to act as a check on state spending, yet he’s not a slash-and-burn type who’d face an uphill battle against Democrats next session.

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State Rep. Mark Batinick, R-Plainfield

The Sun-Times endorses Mark Batinick for Illinois House in the 97th District.

Rich Hein/Sun-Times

State Rep. Mark Batinick, a practical and fair-minded lawmaker, is endorsed for re-election.

A moderate Republican from Plainfield, Batinick wants to work next session on getting the state’s finances on track. He also wants to change the Cook County property tax appeal system, which he points out historically has allowed politically connected property owners to reduce their tax burden. This, Batinick argues, unfairly forces Springfield to divert state funding for education from the suburbs and downstate to Cook County to make up for the questionable property tax reductions.

We like that Batinick is among a group of legislators seeking to put a check on state spending — but without resorting to the kind of slash-and-burn rhetoric that probably won’t fly in a statehouse that’s likely to have a Democratic supermajority next session.

We also like that Batinick was an early adapter of face-mask use in his district at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, he marshaled volunteers to deliver food and prescriptions to seniors.

Batinick is endorsed over his Democratic challenger, Plainfield Village Trustee Harry Benton.


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Illinois House 97th District map

Illustration by Caroline Hurley


To read more Sun-Times endorsements, please go to suntimes.com/political-endorsements. For more information about this race and others, including candidate questionnaires, go to our Illinois voting guide. Our newspaper is owned by a group of civic-minded and, in some cases, politically active investors; for details, see our owner information page.

Send letters to letters@suntimes.com.

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