The decision on whether to raise the age people can buy tobacco to 21 is now in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s hands after the Illinois Senate approved the so-called "Tobacco 21" bill on Thursday, two days after the House OK'd it.

Jordan Abudayyeh, Pritzker’s spokeswoman, did not indicate whether the governor would sign the bill, only that he looks forward to reviewing the legislation.

“The governor believes in order to help build a healthy society we have to work to prevent young people from smoking,” Abudayyeh said.

Lawmakers have 30 days to send the paperwork to the governor’s office, and Pritzker will have 60 days to sign or veto it.

Former Gov. Bruce Rauner vetoed Tobacco 21 legislation last year. If Pritzker OKs it, Illinois would become the eighth state to enact a Tobacco 21 law. The others are Hawaii, Maine, Oregon, Massachusetts, New Jersey, California and Virginia.

House Bill 345 passed the Senate 39-16. Among Springfield-area senators, Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, voted "yes," while Steve McClure, R-Springfield, and Senate Republican Leader Bill Brady of Bloomington voted "no."

The goal of the bill is to keep tobacco products out of the hands of young people. Advocates say if people don’t start smoking by the time they are 18, they most likely will never start.

Bill sponsor Sen. Julie Morrison, D-Deerfield, said nine out of 10 smokers started before turning 18.

When looking at the over 30 communities that have enacted Tobacco 21 ordinances in Illinois, Morrison said many have had a “significant drop” in use of tobacco products.

Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, criticized how the bill eliminates penalties for underage possession of tobacco. He said doing so takes away accountability.

He acknowledged it is not “politically fashionable” to say intervention in the court system is a good thing.

“But you know what? Once in a while, it is, particularly if a young person has to go to a smoking cessation education class, which exists in most communities today,” Righter said.

He added that intervention by a teen's parents and law enforcement is also sometimes a good thing.

Morrison said possession penalties were removed because supporters wanted the emphasis to be on people who sell tobacco products. She said she was open to working with opponents and law enforcement to develop a practical and enforceable way to deal with underage possession.

Sen. Toi Hutchinson, D-Olympia Fields, said she found it interesting that opponents think the bill shouldn’t pass “until we find ways to criminalize kids.”

“(This thinking) goes against our understanding of what introducing young people to the criminal justice system does in the first place,” she said.

Hutchinson said even though the penalties for underage possession were taken out, that wouldn’t stop a teacher, coach, guidance counselor or police officer from taking a cigarette from a minor and calling their parents.

“What it stops them from doing is introducing them into a system that follows them for the rest of their lives,” Hutchinson said. “I know I don’t have to stand here and delineate how disparate the enforcement of those things are depending on where you live and who you are and what you look like.”

McClure said as a former juvenile prosecutor, he can appreciate the problems of the criminal justice system, but children accused of petty offenses do not go into the system.

“To say that these kids who are getting their cigarettes from other kids are now going to be allowed to do that freely, with no punishment, is a real problem,” he said.

He argued the current punishments for underage tobacco possession — such as a fine, community service or education on why smoking is bad — are not severe.

“I can’t imagine why anyone would be opposed to that,” he said.

In a statement, Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said Tobacco 21 should already have been the law.

“Thankfully, we’ve got a new governor and a new chance to right past wrongs and make Illinois a healthier state,” he said. “We’ve seen this work in Chicago and other numerous communities. ... It’s time for the state to step up and protect our children from this known danger.”

Contact Cassie Buchman: 782-3095, cbuchman@sj-r.com, twitter.com/cjbuchman.