* Tribune…

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker on Monday said he was still deciding whether he’d sign legislation that would permit doctors to help terminally ill people end their lives, after the bill narrowly passed the General Assembly last week.

“It was something that I didn’t expect and didn’t know it was going to be voted on, so we’re examining it even now,” Pritzker said. […]

Pritzker, who is running for a third term next year and is widely considered a potential 2028 contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, on Monday said he’s still taking input on the controversial bill and has already “heard a lot” from advocates backing the legislation. Speaking to reporters at an unrelated event at the Philip J. Rock Center and School in Glen Ellyn for deaf-blind children, Pritzker signaled an openness to the advocates’ arguments but was noncommittal about signing the legislation into law.

“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 have gone through that,” Pritzker said Monday, echoing the rhetoric of some lawmakers who have advocated for the bill. “I know people whose family members have gone through that, and so, I mean, it hits me deeply and makes me wonder about how we can alleviate the pain that they’re going through.”

Fox Chicago…

Deb Robertson says she’s elated that Illinois is one step closer to becoming the 11th state in the country to legalize medical aid in dying, also known as ‘the right to die act.’

“It’s been a long road, but we’ve made progress and I’m hopeful Governor Pritzker will sign this bill as soon as possible,” Robertson said.

Robertson has been fighting a rare and deadly form of cancer, called neuroendocrine carcinoma, for three years. She says the disease has begun to progress more rapidly. […]

“I’m fighting to live, so there’s no need for me to use this option today,” Robertson said. “But my body is declining and I might need it in the future.”

* Daily Herald…

A 45-cent toll hike included in a bill passed by the General Assembly last week to avert a public transit budget crisis isn’t set in stone, Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday.

Asked about the increase, Pritzker said the legislation states “that if the tollway board decides something different or … the attorneys, the bond lawyers tell them that this isn’t something the legislature can opine about — the legislature would urge the toll authority to move forward with a hike in the tolls.”

The toll spike was part of the deal making that resulted in a bailout package for Metra, Pace and the CTA approved Friday during legislature’s veto session. It would raise about $1 billion for tollway road construction.

“The toll authority has been looking at expansion, and renovation and modernization,” Pritzker said at a ribbon-cutting in Glen Ellyn. “And so there was always going to be some capital program that would be brought to the tollway. All that the legislature did was sort of codify that, indeed, that’s what will happen.

“And again, it’s to pay for upgrades. This is all about infrastructure and capital — it doesn’t have anything to do directly with operating dollars necessary for our transit system.”

* Block Club Chicago…

State lawmakers passed bills Thursday aimed at increasing protections for immigrant communities and limiting how and where federal immigration agents operate. […]

The Court Access, Safety and Participation Act bans arrests made without a warrant at or on the way to state courthouses and allows for anyone who knowingly violates the act to be liable for civil damages for false imprisonment, including actual damages and statutory damages of $10,000.

The act bans arrests without a judicial warrant for anyone “who is going to, remaining at, or returning from the place of the court proceeding,” according to the bill text. […]

Another effort, the Health Care Sanctity and Privacy Law, seeks to ensure health care providers and staff can provide quality care without interference by law enforcement.

The bill asks hospitals to have procedures to respond should immigration agents come into their facilities and designate a point person who interacts with immigration officers. The bill also asks hospitals to have a designated space for law enforcement agents to remain and wait at a hospital, according to the bill text.

* The Tribune…

Lawmakers have passed a bill to strengthen Illinois’ ability to make its own vaccine guidelines — legislation that follows months of tumult over vaccines at the federal level.

The bill expands the authority of the Immunization Advisory Committee, which is a group of doctors and other experts and leaders that makes vaccine recommendations to the director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. The bill also requires that insurance companies in Illinois cover vaccines recommended by the director of the state health department.

“This really is a reaction from the state of Illinois, given the politicization of public health policy at the federal level,” said chief bill sponsor Rep. Bob Morgan, D-Highwood. “We’re building out an infrastructure so Illinois can provide access to vaccines in the event of federal inaction or obstruction.” […]

Morgan said bill also included “clean up language” related to legislation signed into law earlier this year regulating pharmacy benefit managers, which are companies that act as intermediaries among drugmakers, insurance corporations and pharmacies.