And There Was Much Rejoicing

I suppose I should mark the final victory in the public smoking battle in Illinois. Gov. Blagojevich yesterday signed into law the statewide smoking ban. It all seems so anticlimactic now since it was all but a forgone conclusion that he would. Still, I couldn’t have imagined we would have com e so far in such a short amount of time.

I guess I’ve kind of gotten so used to the smoke-free environments here in Springfield, it doesn’t seem all that extraordinary for the ban to be implemented statewide. In fact, what does seem extraordinary to me is when I’m dining out in some community without a ban and they ask if I want the smoking or non-smoking section. It seems all so alien and retro. It’s like they’ve asked it I would like the spittoon or non-spittoon section and would I like my horse taken to the livery stable.