If you’re in the mood to lose all faith in humanity, I’ve got just the story for you. While it starts well before Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and his wife, MK, had a face-to-face audience with Pope Leo XIV, who is from Chicago, let’s start there. That’s the high note. If you’re a child of God, you likely would want to start and end on that high note, but sadly, that’s not how this story ends.
The two met in November, and according to all reports and photos of the event, it was a very pleasant experience for both. I choose to believe, until proven otherwise, that the pope is a good man. I know Pritzker is not. I also know the two are very politically aligned, and that’s troublesome.
When meetings like this happen, they serve a purpose. From an ego standpoint, in his position, having personal access to the Holy Father is a major feather in Pritzker’s cap. Powerful people will go to great lengths to meet with a pope for just this reason. But that wasn’t what this was about. Both Pritzker and the pope are very strategic and calculating with their communications.
The PR narrative around the trip was “two Chicago guys, now world figures, talking art, books, and beer.” While all of those things may have come up, that’s not why this meeting happened. They were using each other. They both know Illinois has a huge Catholic population, and to reinforce their “favorabilities” with their respective bases, being seen together could be a good thing.
After the meeting, Pritzker pretended to care about things he hates, particularly when he issued a statement that said, “Pope Leo XIV’s message of hope, compassion, unity, and peace resonates with Illinoisans of all faiths and traditions.”
Pope Leo XIV met today at the Vatican with Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who brought a Chicago craft beer named “Da Pope” — a new release from Burning Bush Brewery. The four-pack of American mild ale paid tribute to the Pope’s Chicago roots as the first U.S. pontiff. Smiling as… pic.twitter.com/1iEgUNgZ1V
— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) November 19, 2025
The real meat of their conversation, however, appears to have been their mutual opposition to President Donald Trump’s immigration and deportation policies. It’s obvious they don’t like Trump. They don’t want illegals deported from the United States. Neither would likely mind it if the Democrats swept every federal and state election for the foreseeable future, in spite of the party’s sacred respect for abortion.
So, with the pope’s blessing, Pritzker returned home and to his office to do the work of the people. Today, that work involved signing a bill that legalized assisted suicide.
Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1950 to legalize “physician-assisted suicide” in his home state and that of Pope Leo XIV. The governor was so proud of his legalization of an entirely new way to off people in a state that has many, he even put on a dog-and-pony show press conference about it.
From @LifeNewsHQ: Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is coming under massive criticism for signing a dangerous bill to legalize assisted suicide. @nrlc today condemned the governor, saying the bill puts the lives of medically vulnerable Illinoisans at grave risk.https://t.co/rzyOtnodHL
— Bobby Schindler (@BobbySSchindler) December 12, 2025
You see, he wants you to be able to kill yourself because he really cares about you. Don’t believe me?
Here’s what he said: “I have been deeply impacted by the stories of Illinoisans or their loved ones that have suffered from a devastating terminal illness, and I have been moved by their dedication to standing up for freedom and choice at the end of life in the midst of personal heartbreak.”
Of course, any time you launch a policy to thin the herd of humanity, you can’t just open the floodgates. You have to pretend you’re putting guardrails in place so the new law is not abused, at least not for now.
Under this initial iteration of the law, which is sure to “evolve,” no doctor, health care system, or pharmacist is required to participate in the option.
Let me tell you how this works. Sometime sooner than you think, the law will expand the “option” to people who aren’t terminally ill. Then economics will enter the picture. State agencies, insurance companies, and hospital systems will themselves see just how “cost-effective” – even profitable – suicide is rather than trying to keep someone alive.
So new systems, protocols, and approval criteria will emerge. That experimental drug you need that you might have access to right now will become much harder to come by once “the system” knows it can force you into a corner and persuade (coerce) you that, for the good of your loved ones, you really should think of killing yourself.
Need a real-world laboratory for this? Read up on the Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) program in Canada. Catherine gave a status report on Canda’s suicide machinery in November. Apparently, it’s not systemic murder if you can get the patient to pull the trigger.
Over 16,000 people were euthanized in that country last year, and not all were terminally ill, but all were seen as a burden on the state.
Illinois even borrowed Canada’s branding for the ghoulish new law. It’s called the Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) bill, and it goes into effect Sep. 12, 2026. I wonder if Pritzker will make sure the Democrats who sign up in September have the opportunity to vote by mail before doing the deed.
Sometimes I wish such thoughts didn’t cross my mind, but I’m a realist. Do you think Pritzker knew this bill was coming his way for his signature in November when he met with the pope? Of course. Do you think the Vatican knew? You’d better believe it. In May, Chicago’s Catholic patriarch, Cardinal Blase Cupich, had a lot to say about it.
Do you think Pritzker and the pope talked about this when they met? I’m guessing that since talking about Pritzker’s support of assisted suicide wouldn’t have been a polite conversation between two political allies, they did not. Or, if they did, it was just one of those compulsory “agree-to-disagree” things that they got out of the way before lunch.
But this is serious and grave. We all know what kind of man Pritzker is. This is what he does. But the pope? I’m sorry, some issues are a hill to die on, and as strong as he feels about advocating for people who broke the law to get into America and seize free benefits, I think that combating the left’s culture of death is more important. Pritzker left the Vatican a Chicago homeboy with a new BFF. He should have left the Vatican wishing he had never made the trip to Italy.
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