ILLINOIS (WAND) - A lawmaker said he's pulled legislation after received deaths threats over his bill, which would have required those who are unvaccinated to pay for their own COVID-19 care.

HB 4259 was introduced by State Rep. Jonathan Carroll on Monday. In the measure, those unvaccinated against COVID-19 would have had to pay medical costs, including hospital bills, for virus care, even if they have health insurance. 

The bill did not have a co-sponsor, but had drawn left-wing interest. Some Republicans came out strongly against it, including State Rep. Adam Niemerg, who proposed an anti-discrimination bill to protect unvaccinated Illinoisans. 

Carroll said his hope was to get people to start understanding the importance of being vaccinated and to increase vaccinations. 

"When we see over $5 billion has been spent on health care costs related to the unvaccinated, those of us that are vaccinated are frustrated," he told our news parters at WTAX Radio. "We followed the course of action and others haven't." 

He ended up receiving threats to himself, his family and his synagogue after the bill was introduced. He also heard harsh language from the public. 

"It turned into really a free-for-all of name-calling. I was called things like the N-word, I was called derogatory terms for homosexuals," Carroll said. "I've been called a Nazi, I've been called a communist. My staff has been called all of those things." 

While it's important to have conversations about vaccines, Carroll said his family's health and safety "will always come first." he said he passed along the threats he received to Illinois State Police.Â