Labor Law Center Blog » Blog Archive » Illinois Smoking Ban May Expand

Illinois Smoking Ban May Expand

October 24th, 2007 Posted by Amelia

A smoking ban in Illinois may soon be expanded even further.

The Chicago Park District is considering a ban on smoking on all Park District property. The park district is the nation’s oldest, and commands the highest budget, with more than $385 million annually. This ban would affect all Park District workers, as well as recreational users of the District’s beaches, parks, playgrounds, and buildings.

Chicago is the largest city in Illinois, with some 66% of the state’s residents living in the area. A ban on smoking in the parks would affect more than 3 million people.

Chicago’s parks are home to hundreds of special events each year, including the Taste of Chicago over the July 4^th weekend, cultural events, art fairs, and free performances of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Millennium Park. The parks also host hundreds of festivals each year, from the Puerto Rican Day festival to Oz Fest, a rock ‘n roll celebration held in a park dedicated to Frank Baum, creator of the Wizard of Oz. Under the new regulations, all of these events would be affected.

This smoking ban is particularly interesting, because it is a unilateral regulation, rather than legislation. If implemented, the Park District Management would make it illegal to smoke outside in public areas such as parks, playgrounds and the beautiful beaches along Lake Michigan.

Since the Illinois Clean Air Act was passed in the 1990s, many workers have resigned themselves to braving the subzero chill and gale force winds in winter, to smoke outside. Now, even that may be eliminated.

The proposed smoking ban would carry one of the toughest penalties in the state so far, with smokers who light up within 15 feet of a playground or beach facing fines of up to $500. The measure is expected to be approved on October 24, 2007 and will go into effect immediately.

While the new regulation will be implemented quickly, the measure has been discussed for quite some time. Last year, the Alliance for the Great Lakes suggested a smoking ban in parks. Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley demurred, questioning who would enforce such a ban. He suggested that lifeguards on the beaches were more concerned about rescuing swimmers than stomping out cigarettes.

Now, however, even the Mayor has come around to the non-smoker’s point of view. “You have children in parks,” he said. In an unusual moment of fluency, Daley, who is possibly the least articulate person on the planet, added, “I think it’s well intentioned in regard to trying to protect the environment in and around where children are, where families are.”

Parks Superintendent Tim Mitchell says that for the present, smokers will be allowed on baseball diamonds and picnic areas. Those areas may be added to the smoking ban in the near future, however.

Chicago already has a citywide smoking ban that prohibits smoking in offices, enclosed sports arenas and restaurants. The current city law also prohibits smoking within 15 feet of a building entrance.

The state’s tough smoking ban, which goes into effect on January 1, 2008, will prohibit smoking in bars, restaurants and sports stadiums.

Workers for the Alliance for the Great Lakes point out that smoking has many negative consequences for the environment. The group picked up more than 34,000 cigarette butts off the beach in just 3 hours. Cigarette butts containing harmful nicotine are often eaten by wildlife. The nicotine can also leach into the water. Mechanical removal by sand-combing equipment has been ineffective, says spokesperson Joel Brammeier.

Several townships in suburban Chicago also have laws that ban smoking outdoors in public parks. These include Buffalo Grove and the upscale suburbs of Oak Park, Deerfield, Lake Forest and Wilmette.

Some smokers feel that they are being pressured by the laws to quit. Joel Africk, president of the Chicago branch of the American Lung Association, agrees. “AS more locations become smoke-free, it’s easier for smokers to quit, because they don’t see smoking all around them.”