Ben Szalinski

Bio

Ben is The Daily Line's legislative reporter covering Illinois state government. He came to The Daily Line in January 2022 from Shaw Media where he covered local government in McHenry County for the Northwest Herald. Ben is a graduate of the Public Affair
SEP 07, 2022
Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) speaks during a news conference in at the State Capitol in 2021. [Blue Room Stream]  

The voice of the House Republican caucus on the House floor Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) is stepping aside in January after deciding not to run for a fifth term in 2022.

But while he is ready to leave legislating behind for the next few years, Batinick told The Daily Line he hopes his caucus will stay focused on important policy issues and shared his secrets for navigating debates as the minority party.

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‘Time to get off the hamster wheel’: Batinick ready to take a break from the House after 8 years in Springfield  

Rep. Mark Batinick (R-Plainfield) speaks during a news conference in at the State Capitol in 2021...
SEP 06, 2022
Republican nominee for governor Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), left, and Republican nominee for attorney general Tom DeVore, right. 

With about two months left before Election Day on Nov. 8 and less than a month before voters can begin casting ballots by mail and at early voting sites, Republican candidates for statewide office continue to trail Democrats in the fundraising race.

However, Republican nominee for governor Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) and Republican nominee for attorney general Tom DeVore both received financial boosts to their August fundraising numbers.

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SEP 02, 2022
Supreme Court Statutory Court Fees Task Force Chair Steve Pflaum, left, and Lake County Circuit Court Judge Jorge Ortiz, right, speak during a hearing on Tuesday. [Illinois Supreme Court/YouTube] 

Illinois lawmakers should eliminate court fees for juveniles, advocates told members of the state Supreme Court Statutory Court Fees Task Force during a hearing Tuesday.

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Advocates want lawmakers to eliminate court fees in juvenile cases

Supreme Court Statutory Court Fees Task Force Chair Steve Pflaum, left, and Lake County Circuit C...
SEP 02, 2022

Illinois officials said Thursday they “welcome” migrants from Venezuela and other Latin American countries after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott sent a group of migrants by bus to Chicago Wednesday. Republican secretary of state nominee Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) pledged to digitize vehicle titles if elected. And Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Kathy Salvi announced her plans to participate in an October debate.

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SEP 01, 2022
House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) speaks at a rally on Republican Day at the Illinois State Fair on Aug. 18. [Blue Room Stream]

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) is hoping to bring down the House Democrats’ super majority with a record number of Republican candidates running for seats in the Illinois House on Nov. 8.

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Record number of Republican candidates running for House seats as party tries to end Democrats’ super majority

House Minority Leader Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs) speaks at a rally on Republican Day at the I...
AUG 31, 2022
Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at a news conference Tuesday at Planned Parenthood of Illinois. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

Hours after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade at the end of June, Gov. JB Pritzker pledged to call lawmakers to Springfield within the “coming weeks” to craft a legislative response to the decision, but then hit the breaks on the special session when July arrived.

Now as Labor Day approaches and state lawmakers count down the days to the Nov. 8 election, a special session to take up abortion bills appears unlikely.

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Advocates, Pritzker stress importance of getting abortion legislation right as special session appears less likely

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks at a news conference Tuesday at Planned Parenthood of Illinois. [Ben Szal...
AUG 31, 2022

A report released by the Better Government Association calls into question Gov. JB Pritzker’s transparency on his personal investments. Republican nominee for governor Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) wants to the University of Illinois to increase in-state students’ enrollment. And the state is taking steps to contain gas prices after a fire at an Indiana refinery.

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AUG 30, 2022
Gov. JB Pritzker speaks outside IBEW Local 134 in Chicago Sunday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]  

As the campaign season kicks into high gear with just over two months before voters head to the polls on Nov. 8, Gov. JB Pritzker wrapped up a bus tour Sunday after barnstorming to 14 stops throughout the state.

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‘I feel like I have something to prove’: Pritzker uses bus tour to try to sway downstate voters

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks outside IBEW Local 134 in Chicago Sunday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] ...
AUG 29, 2022
Anti-Defamation League Regional Director David Goldenberg speaks during a House Public Safety and Violence Prevention Task Force hearing on Thursday. [Blue Room Stream]

Hate crimes are on the rise in Illinois and around the country and advocates are asking lawmakers do more to track hate crimes and help community organizations and law enforcement appropriately respond to incidents.

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Advocacy groups pitch lawmakers to act as hate crimes rise

Anti-Defamation League Regional Director David Goldenberg speaks during a House Public Safety and...
AUG 26, 2022
Gov. JB Pritzker visits the Mid-American Carpenters Regional Council in Elk Grove Village Wednesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

As Democrats tout their support for unions, they are also calling on union members to spread the word about the Workers’ Rights Amendment that would make collective bargaining a constitutional right.

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Pritzker, Democrats adding support for Workers’ Rights Amendment to campaign pitches

Gov. JB Pritzker visits the Mid-American Carpenters Regional Council in Elk Grove Village Wednesd...
AUG 25, 2022
Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), left, and Gov. JB Pritzker, right, speak during an Illinois Farm Bureau forum in Lexington Wednesday. [Blue Room Stream]

The 2022 race for governor has pitted two opposite candidates against each other: a Chicago billionaire and businessman in Gov. JB Pritzker and downstate conservative farmer in Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia).

Both candidates made their pitches to farmers Wednesday at an Illinois Farm Bureau forum in Lexington where Pritzker listed his accomplishments over the last four years to argue he’s a better option for governor for farmers than career farmer Bailey.

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Pritzker argues he’s a better governor for farmers than career farmer and Republican opponent Bailey 

Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia), left, and Gov. JB Pritzker, right, speak during an Illinois Farm Bu...
AUG 24, 2022
An Illinois Supreme Court task force is reviewing the Pretrial Fairness Act to provide guidance on how it should be used in practice.

Some changes to the state’s pretrial laws made by the Pretrial Fairness Act could be an unintended burden on rural communities, public defenders on a state Supreme Court task force said.

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Changes under Pretrial Fairness Act could cause issues for rural communities, public defenders say

An Illinois Supreme Court task force is reviewing the Pretrial Fairness Act to provide guidance o...
AUG 23, 2022
Democratic nominee for secretary of state Alexi Giannoulias speaks during the Illinois Democratic County Chairs’ Association brunch at the Bank of Springfield Center in Springfield Wednesday. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]

The on-going debate over abortion is beginning to seep into the Illinois secretary of state’s race as Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias tries to pin down Republican opponent Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) on the issue.

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Abortion debate seeping into secretary of state race as Giannoulias tries to create distance from Brady

Democratic nominee for secretary of state Alexi Giannoulias speaks during the Illinois Democratic...
AUG 23, 2022
Gov. JB Pritzker speaks to reporters during Governors’ Day at the Illinois State Fair Wednesday. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line]  

As summer comes to a close, state leaders say there are no updates on when or if lawmakers will return to Springfield for a special session ahead of the November election.

Conversations also remain in the works on gun control legislation as lawmakers search for a response to the July 4 Highland Park parade shooting.

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No timeline for special session, gun legislation as fall approaches

Gov. JB Pritzker speaks to reporters during Governors’ Day at the Illinois State Fair Wednesday. ...
AUG 23, 2022

Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) is calling on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to monitor the air around Chicago’s NASCAR race in 2023. And Republican attorney general nominee Tom DeVore says he does not believe Chicago is a “hellhole” like Republican gubernatorial nominee Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) said.

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News in brief: Buckner wants EPA air monitoring of NASCAR race; DeVore denounces Bailey’s ‘hellhole’ remarks on Chicago

Rep. Kam Buckner (D-Chicago) is calling on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) to...
AUG 22, 2022
Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) questions officials from the Illinois State Police during a Joint Committee on Administrative Review hearing on Aug. 17. [State of Illinois] 

Lawmakers are demanding more answers from the Illinois State Police on how they handled a clear and present danger report by Highland Park Police about the Independence Day parade gunman Bobby Crimo.

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State Police tight-lipped as lawmakers try to clarify how agency handled police report about Highland Park shooter

Sen. John Curran (R-Downers Grove) questions officials from the Illinois State Police during a Jo...
AUG 18, 2022
Gov. JB Pritzker takes questions from reporters at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield on Wednesday. [Don Vincent/The Daily Line] 

Democrats attempted to put to rest any ideas that the party is not unified at their State Fair rallies Wednesday as they leaned on their hopes to squash Republican opposition in November.

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Democrats unified by distaste for Republicans’ ‘extremist’ rhetoric

Gov. JB Pritzker takes questions from reporters at the Illinois State Fair in Springfield on Wedn...
AUG 17, 2022
Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) speaks at an Awake Illinois rally at the Illinois State Capitol Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line]

Republican nominee for governor Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) is not backing away from a right-wing suburban organization even as the group has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks on multiple fronts.

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Bailey sticks by support for right-wing group despite recent controversies, other politicians pulling support 

Sen. Darren Bailey (R-Xenia) speaks at an Awake Illinois rally at the Illinois State Capitol Tues...
AUG 17, 2022
Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville) speaks outside the DuPage County courthouse in Wheaton Tuesday. [Ben Szalinski/The Daily Line] 

As a conservative group hits Illinois airwaves with an ad attacking the SAFE-T Act and elimination of cash bail, Democrats are defending their legislation and arguing moving to a risk-based assessment will be a positive step for the state’s judicial system.

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Democrats defend eliminating cash bail, arguing bond is a piece of a ‘broken’ justice system

Rep. Anne Stava-Murray (D-Naperville) speaks outside the DuPage County courthouse in Wheaton Tues...
AUG 16, 2022
From left to right, Abdelnasser Rashid, Azam Nizamuddin, and Nabeela Syed are three Democrats running for the General Assembly. [Campaign websites]

While people often think of places like Dearborn, Mich., Minneapolis, or New York City as places with a high population of Muslims, a new study released last month found Illinois has more Muslims per capita than any other state.

Despite being home to one of the largest concentrations of one of the world’s major religions, Illinois has never had a Muslim elected official at the state or federal level. Three Democratic candidates are hoping to change that in November’s election.

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Illinois has more Muslims per capita than any other state but has never had a Muslim elected official. That could soon change

From left to right, Abdelnasser Rashid, Azam Nizamuddin, and Nabeela Syed are three Democrats run...

Bio

Ben is The Daily Line's legislative reporter covering Illinois state government. He came to The Daily Line in January 2022 from Shaw Media where he covered local government in McHenry County for the Northwest Herald. Ben is a graduate of the Public Affair