Slightly aged news: Chicago passes tough smoking ban
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I don't recall seeing a lot of articles on this news over the last few weeks here at Joe User, but when I found this news I found the levels to which this ban will go to be among the harshest and toughest in the nation.
Smoking bans have been passed in other places, but reading through the requirements that the Chicago ban (discussed in the original news article snippet below) will include seem to leave smokers very few places in the city (except for bars in restaurants and then only for a few years) where they will actually be able to smoke.
See the original article snippets below for more details, but suffice it to say that it seems that smokers will soon be a very endangered species in the windy city.
Smoking ban OKd by Chicago City Council
By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 7, 2005, 9:59 PM CST
Over a long and sometimes trying night of bargaining, city officials and competing lobbyists forged a smoking ban that won the City Council's overwhelming approval just hours later on Wednesday.
The negotiations resolved key sticking points, leading the way to an acceptable compromise that had eluded the council for months. Under the eye of Mayor Richard Daley, whose endorsement helped seal the compromise, the council voted 46-1 to approve the ordinance.
Now, the cigarettes will get snuffed and the cigars stubbed out in most public places, from Chicago Transit Authority train platforms to condominium lobbies and hallways, on Jan. 16. The ban also will close smoking sections in restaurants that don't have bars.
And smokers who light up outdoors will be required to stay at least 15 feet away from the entrance of any building where smoking is prohibited, which means just about every public building in the city.
But under terms of the compromise ordinance, smoking would still be allowed in taverns and restaurants with bars until July 1, 2008. Anti-smoking groups that championed the ban as a health issue for workers chafed at the delay. But they were also concerned by a provision that offers the hope of a permanent exemption for any place that meets yet-to-be-determined rules for scrubbing the air.
Some smokers said they may head to the suburbs when smoking is outlawed in their favorite Chicago spots.
"They should just let you have the choice," said Kate Gramercy, 24, a smoker who was lunching with a friend at the Golden Nugget Pancake House, 2720 N. Clark St. "I think there are enough non-smoking restaurants."
Owners of restaurants that have bars on the premises expressed confusion over whether the new ordinance would apply to them, and how soon.
Brian Comer, marketing director of Blue Bayou Bar & Grill and Cullens Bar & Grill on North Southport Avenue, said he favors the smoking ban. But he wondered how it would apply to places that are a restaurant during the day and turn into a bar at night.
"We are restaurants, we serve food," he said. "But we stop at 10 o'clock. Will we have the opportunity to serve smokers after 10?"
... more at linked article
Another take on the story:
Chicago passes smoking ban to take effect Jan. 16
Bars and restaurants have more than 2 years to comply
(AP) — The Chicago City Council on Wednesday passed a measure banning smoking in virtually all public spaces but giving taverns and restaurant bars more than two years to comply.
The ban also applies to places such as stadiums, nursing homes, shopping malls, taxi cabs, convention halls and public elevators.
More than 10 states and dozens of cities and counties around the country now ban smoking in restaurants, bars or both. Among those are New York and California. The country of Ireland last year banned smoking in enclosed workplaces, including pubs.
Chicago's measure passed 45-1, but only after months of debate among alderman and aggressive lobbying on both sides of the issue by groups such as the American Cancer Society and the Illinois Restaurant Association.
The ban takes effect Jan. 16.
Negotiations continued until 3 a.m. Wednesday and a final draft of the ordinance was not prepared until 30 minutes before the City Council meeting started at 10 a.m.
The ordinance was a compromise between proposals pushed by health advocates who wanted an immediate comprehensive ban and some in the hospitality industry who wanted a less stringent measure, fearing their businesses would suffer.
"The word compromise is not a bad word. It's an accommodation that means we got people to agree," said Ald. Burton Natarus.
... again, more at linked article
Smoking bans have been passed in other places, but reading through the requirements that the Chicago ban (discussed in the original news article snippet below) will include seem to leave smokers very few places in the city (except for bars in restaurants and then only for a few years) where they will actually be able to smoke.
See the original article snippets below for more details, but suffice it to say that it seems that smokers will soon be a very endangered species in the windy city.
Smoking ban OKd by Chicago City Council
By Gary Washburn
Tribune staff reporter
Published December 7, 2005, 9:59 PM CST
Over a long and sometimes trying night of bargaining, city officials and competing lobbyists forged a smoking ban that won the City Council's overwhelming approval just hours later on Wednesday.
The negotiations resolved key sticking points, leading the way to an acceptable compromise that had eluded the council for months. Under the eye of Mayor Richard Daley, whose endorsement helped seal the compromise, the council voted 46-1 to approve the ordinance.
Now, the cigarettes will get snuffed and the cigars stubbed out in most public places, from Chicago Transit Authority train platforms to condominium lobbies and hallways, on Jan. 16. The ban also will close smoking sections in restaurants that don't have bars.
And smokers who light up outdoors will be required to stay at least 15 feet away from the entrance of any building where smoking is prohibited, which means just about every public building in the city.
But under terms of the compromise ordinance, smoking would still be allowed in taverns and restaurants with bars until July 1, 2008. Anti-smoking groups that championed the ban as a health issue for workers chafed at the delay. But they were also concerned by a provision that offers the hope of a permanent exemption for any place that meets yet-to-be-determined rules for scrubbing the air.
Some smokers said they may head to the suburbs when smoking is outlawed in their favorite Chicago spots.
"They should just let you have the choice," said Kate Gramercy, 24, a smoker who was lunching with a friend at the Golden Nugget Pancake House, 2720 N. Clark St. "I think there are enough non-smoking restaurants."
Owners of restaurants that have bars on the premises expressed confusion over whether the new ordinance would apply to them, and how soon.
Brian Comer, marketing director of Blue Bayou Bar & Grill and Cullens Bar & Grill on North Southport Avenue, said he favors the smoking ban. But he wondered how it would apply to places that are a restaurant during the day and turn into a bar at night.
"We are restaurants, we serve food," he said. "But we stop at 10 o'clock. Will we have the opportunity to serve smokers after 10?"
... more at linked article
Another take on the story:
Chicago passes smoking ban to take effect Jan. 16
Bars and restaurants have more than 2 years to comply
(AP) — The Chicago City Council on Wednesday passed a measure banning smoking in virtually all public spaces but giving taverns and restaurant bars more than two years to comply.
The ban also applies to places such as stadiums, nursing homes, shopping malls, taxi cabs, convention halls and public elevators.
More than 10 states and dozens of cities and counties around the country now ban smoking in restaurants, bars or both. Among those are New York and California. The country of Ireland last year banned smoking in enclosed workplaces, including pubs.
Chicago's measure passed 45-1, but only after months of debate among alderman and aggressive lobbying on both sides of the issue by groups such as the American Cancer Society and the Illinois Restaurant Association.
The ban takes effect Jan. 16.
Negotiations continued until 3 a.m. Wednesday and a final draft of the ordinance was not prepared until 30 minutes before the City Council meeting started at 10 a.m.
The ordinance was a compromise between proposals pushed by health advocates who wanted an immediate comprehensive ban and some in the hospitality industry who wanted a less stringent measure, fearing their businesses would suffer.
"The word compromise is not a bad word. It's an accommodation that means we got people to agree," said Ald. Burton Natarus.
... again, more at linked article