Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday wouldn’t commit to signing legislation narrowly approved by the Illinois General Assembly that would allow terminally ill people to end their own lives with a doctor’s prescription, but he said he’s “deeply” affected by the plight of residents seeking end-of-life options.

The Illinois Senate passed the polarizing bill with a bare-minimum 30-27 majority last week during the waning overnight hours of the Legislature’s fall veto session, leaving Pritzker’s signature as the final hurdle toward granting patients access to life-ending medicine if they have six months or less to live.

Like many other Springfield observers, the Democratic governor said he was surprised to see the bill taken up five months after it passed the Illinois House with just three votes to spare.

“It was something that I didn’t expect and didn’t know was going to be voted on, so we’re examining it even now,” Pritzker said after an unrelated press conference Monday in Glen Ellyn.

“I know how terrible it is that someone who’s in the last six months of their life could be experiencing terrible pain and anguish, and I know people who’ve gone through that. I know people whose family members have gone through that, and so it hits me deeply and makes me wonder about how we can alleviate the pain that they’re going through,” Pritzker said.

Lawmakers in 11 other states and Washington D.C. have passed so-called “right-to-die” legislation, which is opposed by religious leaders including Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich.

Illinois’ bill, championed by Democratic Aurora state Sen. Linda Holmes, would open the door for people 18 or older with a terminal diagnosis to be prescribed a fatal dose of medicine.

They would have to be assessed by a physician and a mental health professional as being “of sound mind,” and make a series of oral and written requests for the drug, with witnesses attesting.

Doctors would be required to explain other end-of-life care options such as hospice. If prescribed a life-ending drug, patients would administer it themselves. Health care providers wouldn’t be required to participate.

“This is a choice,” Holmes said during Senate floor debate. “If you are opposed to it, whether the reason is moral, religious, you just don’t like the idea — fine.
I would never tell you you should choose this option. What I’m saying is, why? Why, if I am facing an illness where I am going to die in pain, do you think you should tell me I don’t have the option to alleviate that pain?”

Holmes, whose parents died of terminal cancer, urged colleagues to “let people make the decision on how their lives are going to end.”

State Sen. Chris Balkema, R-Channahon, denounced the effort “to introduce a culture of death into Illinois.”

“Assisted suicide forces doctors into a role that contradicts their professional ethics. Illinois’ values overall are at stake,” Balkema said. “Whether the Lord chooses to take somebody today or 50 years from now, it shouldn’t be our choice to walk down that slippery slope, only to come back later, to have a future general assembly, open the guardrails and allow more of this.”

Archdiocese leaders of the Catholic Conference of Illinois urged Pritzker “not only to veto this bill in totality, but also to address humanely the reasons why some view assisted suicide as their only option.”

“It defies common sense for our state to enact a 9-8-8 suicide hotline, increase funding for suicide prevention programs and then pass a law that, based on the experience of other jurisdictions, results in more suicide,” Catholic Conference leaders said in a statement.

Bill proponents from the ACLU of Illinois and the nonprofit Compassion & Choices hailed the legislation to ensure “everyone in Illinois has the ability to access all options at the end of life.”

“Our hearts are with the families and individuals who have courageously shared their stories in the effort to advance this legislation. Their honesty and openness will make life better for Illinoisans once the law is implemented,” supporters said in a statement.

Pritzker has two months to consider the bill.

UNINCORPORATED HARVARD, Ill. (WLS) — Two children were among five people injured in a head-on crash in the north suburbs on Sunday afternoon, officials said.

The Harvard Fire Protection District said first responders were dispatched to the area of Route 14 and Lembcke Road in unincorporated Harvard just after 4 p.m.

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Crews found an SUV and a sedan, which were both heavily damaged, and debris scattered across the roadway.

Two children, who were in the SUV, suffered injuries, fire officials said. One child was airlifted from the scene in serious condition to a Level I trauma center. An ambulance took the other child, who suffered minor injuries, to a local hospital.

One of the injured children was reportedly ejected from their car seat.

Firefighters also worked to free sedan’s driver, who was trapped in his vehicle, officials said. An ambulance transported him to a local hospital in serious condition.

Officials said two other adults, who were in the SUV, suffered moderate injuries and were also taken to a local hospital.

The roadway was closed for nearly 90 minutes in both directions.

The McHenry County Sheriff’s Office is investigating.

Lawmakers pass a bill to end the ban on large nuclear plants but include plans on expanding state control over energy.

Illinois lawmakers have passed Senate Bill 25, a sweeping energy bill that ends the state’s 40-year moratorium on large-scale nuclear plants, but also extends state control over how energy is produced and managed.

This measure also adds cost increases for consumers including $7 billion for battery storage projects beginning in 2030 according to the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association.

The proposal, set to be signed into law on Nov. 6 by Gov. J.B. Pritzker, introduces new layers of bureaucracy that threaten to increase energy prices and undercut the benefits of nuclear expansion.

While lifting its nuclear ban is a positive step towards competitiveness and reliability, new state mandates risk driving up costs for residents and businesses and slowing innovation.

Positive developments

Ending Illinois’ decades-long nuclear ban is a much-needed step toward energy independence and affordability. The new law would allow construction of reactors larger than 300 megawatts, expanding on the state’s elimination of a ban on smaller reactors in 2023.

Illinois already gets 54% of its electricity from six nuclear power plants and 11 reactors, making it one of the most nuclear reliant states in the nation. With a spike in interest in nuclear energy in recent years with the development of AI and quantum computing, lifting its moratorium positions Illinois to remain a leader in reliable, zero-emission power, while adding a necessary foundation for economic growth because many industries will see their energy needs increase in the coming years.

The bill also takes steps to streamline permitting processes and curb local obstruction. Now counties have 60 days to approve or deny energy-storage permits. If a consensus is not reached, the permit is automatically approved. It also set limits on local municipalities to demand property-value guarantees, impose extended approval timelines, excessive fees or set overly strict environmental or safety rules.

Concerns

Despite these positive steps, the proposal also expands bureaucracy and regulation that risk higher costs and slower innovation.

The bill expands state control of energy by directing the Illinois Commerce Commission to oversee long-term energy planning through new Integrated Resource Plans. Utility companies must project energy demand 5 to 20 years out and include detailed modeling on emissions, affordability, equity, and grid reliability. The Commission has some power to revise or reject plans to meet demands. Utilities can recover IRP related costs by excluding them from rate-cap calculations, potentially increasing short-term rates. This will add layers of regulations for utility companies to navigate.

The legislation also creates numerous programs and departments that will require either budgetary allocations from the state or costs on companies or consumers, or some combination thereof, including:

• The Thermal Energy Network Pilot Program: Administers $20 million for thermal network projects.
• Geothermal Homes and Businesses Program: Allocates $10 million per year in credits for installation of new geothermal heating and cooling systems.
• Powering Up Illinois: mandates faster utility connections for EV infrastructure and establishes performance standards.
• Energy Reliability Corporation of Illinois: This entity will study the feasibility of state-specific independent System Operator to manage Illinois’ electric grid.

The Illinois Manufacturers’ Association estimates added costs from the bill could mean “a small food processor using 1,400kW of energy will see a monthly rate increase of $1,466 in the first year, which will grow to an increase of $12,084 in 2045 – a $144,000 annual increase. A large auto manufacturer using 10,100kW will see a first-year monthly rate increase of $11,361, which rises to a monthly increase of $87,276 per month in 2045 – a hike of $1,047,312 each year.”

Overall, these initiatives can potentially add further regulatory burdens and introduce new fiscal costs at a time when Illinois already faces high tax burdens and recurring budget deficits. Overly strict rules can undercut Illinois’ goal of cheap and efficient energy by limiting production and adding costs which would be passed on to ratepayers.

While lifting the nuclear moratorium is a win for reliability and innovation, higher state control and added regulations risk undoing those gains. Illinois should embrace policies that make energy cheaper, cleaner and more dependable through competition and regulatory restraint, not deeper political control.

Nuclear power can strengthen Illinois’ economy, but only if Springfield learns to get out of its way.