* I told you yesterday that Republicans have a decent shot at holding on to retiring Rep. Mark Batinick’s seat. That’ll depend on who wins the primary. This guy? Maybe not…

One month after announcing plans to run against Meg Cappel in next year’s State Senate 49th District race, Tom McCullagh has switched gears.

McCullagh notified Joliet Patch’s editor on Wednesday that he now plans to run for the seat held by State Rep. Mark Batinick of Plainfield. An officeholder since 2014, Batinick announced that he will not seek re-election next year.

“I want to thank Mark Batinick for his almost eight years as a state rep providing great conservative leadership in the greater Plainfield area,” McCullagh remarked. “When looking at places to live, the Plainfield-Shorewood area stood out because Mark Batinick was the state rep. After hearing of his intent to not run again, I decided to run to fill the seat in the ‘22 cycle. I know I have a lot to live up to, but I intend to represent the people of the 97th district to the best of my ability.” […]

After learning of Batinick’s plans to retire, McCullagh had this to say: “I stand firmly behind advocating the removal of CRT and early age sex ed from our children’s curriculum, as well as being a strong advocate for parental rights and involvement with their children’s education. Mark is leaving big shoes to fill, but I am up to the task.”

* From last year when he ran for state Senate as an anti-corruption candidate…

* He also claimed Pritzker was planning to issue mitigation orders so he could get pension money from the feds…

“I firmly believe he’s trying to show the worst impact of COVID that he can so he can get the federal bailout he wants to address all the state’s other problems, like pensions,” McCullagh told the Will County Gazette. “He’s trying to politicize the moment by using people’s suffering to get the bailout that he wants.”

McCullagh lost by about 12.5 points.