Smoking bans may get easier

Publication Date: 2005-04-14

• Author:Christi Parsons and Erika Slife
• Publication:Chicago Tribune

House OKs bill that gives towns power to regulate smoker

Only a handful of Illinois communities have moved to ban smoking in bars and restaurants and very few have the authority to even try, but Illinois lawmakers are moving to make that easier.

The Illinois House voted 62-48 Wednesday to give most towns and cities the power to clamp down hard on smoking if they wish, a right now reserved for just 20 communities under a legal quirk. The Senate passed a similar measure this week, but the versions will have to be reconciled.

The House action was cheered by anti-smoking advocates, who said it could prove a powerful new tool to allow local authorities to crack down on secondhand smoke