Better get this passed before the Barrel Head opens up and puts all the other Springfield bars out of business.
State Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, announced Thursday he will sponsor a bill creating a statewide indoor smoking ban.It remains to be seen if this thing has enough support to get passed but if lawmakers hear from enough constituents in favor of the measure, just maybe it will become law. I’m sure the tobacco addict lobby is already gearing up for a fight.
The bill would, with exceptions for some home-based businesses, ban smoking in
workplaces and all indoor public places.
If the bill passes, Illinois would join 16 other states, including California, New York and Ohio, that have smoking bans.
Update: The Chicago Tribune has more (HT to Rich Miller):
Legislative leaders and the governor reacted cautiously to the measure, one of the first bills to be introduced in the newly minted General Assembly. The offices of Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich and House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) said they wanted to see the legislation first.I assume that would be true of the Springfield ban as well.
[snip]
Cullerton said the legislation as proposed would take effect on Jan. 1, 2008, and would supercede the recently passed Chicago ordinance that gives city bars until July 2008 to implement the ban.
And of course our good buddy Steve Riedl is full of the usual gloom and doom.
Steve Riedl, executive director of the Illinois Licensed Beverage Association, said a statewide ban would provide little assistance to businesses suffering under local bans. Bars, fraternal organizations and bowling alleys have seen average revenue losses of 40 percent under current bans, he said.Death delayed is death denied I always say. And what will happen to the all-powerful Barrel Head under this ban? Will it explode like a Death Star at the hands of Luke Skywalker? And will smoking addicts continue their pouting protest by going to Missouri for a beer? So many ramifications.
"The death is delayed," Riedl said. "They will keep the doors open just a couple more months. It only slightly puts off the inevitable demise of their businesses."
2 comments:
Is choosing to smoke or not to smoke the reason we elected politicians to office ? I don't think so. Why aren't they screaming about diesel exhaust (which kills more people than smoking), of the filty dirty polution coming from coal fired plants (Springfield comes to mind). Next law will be to stop chewing gum like in Singapore..our Spfld politicians could have a heyday there telling others what they shouldn't do ! Democrats generally fight for people to do as they want - withini reason- while Republicans are big on telling people not to do something because they just don't like (birth control, stem cell research, sex education )
Pick on a majority wrong for change - so you might loose a little re-election money, or maybe all of it ??
As I suggested on another blog in the fall of 2006, the Barrel Head should open as non-smoking to begin with. Give the people one less thing to complain about if and when the statewide ban goes into effect. People will flock there whether they have smoking or not. Really.
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