[C-U Smokefree] Anti-smoking law is approved

[kdrea at lungil.org]

This story was sent to you by: Kathy Drea

Another Illinois city passes a clean indoor air ordinance!

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Anti-smoking law is approved 
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Wilmette's extensive ban will go into effect July 1

By Sean D. Hamill, Special to the Tribune. Tribune staff reporter Courtney Flynn contributed to this report

November 12, 2003

The Wilmette Village Board late Tuesday voted 6-1 to approve the state's strictest anti-smoking law--a ban in restaurants, bowling alleys, country clubs and nearly every public place.

The ban will take effect July 1.

About 80 people showed up for Tuesday's hearing and about half of them spoke about the proposed ban.

Most of the trustees said they struggled with the issue during the monthslong debate. "The hardest issues are the ones where everyone is right and this is certainly a hard issue," Trustee Patrick Hughes said.

Trustree Beth Lambrecht voted against the ordinance.

"Individuals have a choice to enter a restaurant that allows smoking," she said. "Ours is not a one restaurant town."

Only six of the village's 39 restaurants allow smoking.

Before the vote, the board approved an amendment to allow an exemption for nursing homes, allowing smoking in certain areas if the occupants choose to live there.

In late July, the Wilmette Board of Health recommended a smoking ban that would be stricter than one passed earlier this year in Skokie, a measure that is considered the most restrictive in Illinois.

Earlier that month, the Skokie Village Board adopted a ban on smoking in shopping malls, workplaces, sports stadiums and most restaurants. Skokie's law does not apply to bars, tobacco shops or bowling alleys, and nearly 30 restaurants have until July to install floor-to-ceiling barriers and ventilation systems to allow smoking in their bars.

In Wilmette, village officials drafted a proposal that would make fewer exceptions. That sparked opposition from some restaurant and business owners.

"We support the right of business owners to make decisions on their daily operations," said Julie Yusim, executive director of the Wilmette Chamber of Commerce. "We really think that local government does not belong there."

This is not the first time Wilmette officials have considered a smoking ban. In 1994, the Village Board voted against an ordinance that would have prevented patrons from lighting up in restaurants.

In 1998 village officials again considered a smoking ban. But after opposition from restaurant owners who warned that patrons would flock to smoker-friendly eateries in neighboring towns, there was not enough support on the Village Board and the proposal died.

This time, advocates said, there seems to be broader support for a ban.

"Five years ago, people regarded this as a lakefront, liberal issue--it was a novelty," said Joel Africk, a Wilmette resident who is chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago. "It seemed that people didn't place as high a priority on this issue, and that's just the opposite of what we're seeing now."

Supporters said they hoped their efforts would embolden other communities to propose similar bans.


Copyright (c) 2003, Chicago Tribune

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