Mount Prospect Update
Mt. Prospect expected to pass smoking ban
By Steve Zalusky, Daily Herald Staff Writer
December 20, 2006 Mount Prospect’s village board will almost certainly give birth to a smoking ordinance. But it won’t be until after the New Year when the board actually gets to the delivery room. On Tuesday, trustees delayed the decision until their Jan. 2 meeting. The reason for the delay, Village Manager Michael Janonis explained, was because a new draft of the ordinance did not get into the trustees’ hands until late Monday. Although the board didn’t pass the ordinance, it discussed it and even added an amendment to the draft that would grant some restaurant and bar owners a six-month grace period beginning March 15. This would allow smoking to occur while those owners took advantage of the ordinance’s “lounge exception” to build a completely sealed off, separately ventilated smoking area. As written, the ordinance left the period for completing the separate smoking area open-ended, with the liquor control commissioner, Mayor Irvana Wilks, establishing the deadline. But Trustee Tim Corcoran, who proposed the amendment, said, “There shouldn’t be a running clock.” The amendment passed after some massaging that gave Wilks the authority to extend the six months in one-month increments. John Korn was the only board member voting against the amendment. “Personally, as far as my feelings would go, it would be that March 15 is the date of compliance for everybody, and if your establishment’s not ready to go, you’re a nonsmoking entity until you go ahead and conform, whether you pull permits or not.” Trustee Paul Hoefert said that while he was not generally in favor of the lounge exception, “If the people that own these lounges feel that this is something that they need to maintain business, if we make the cutoff date March, there is no way they are going to get a contractor (hired) and get it all built by March.” If they have to go nonsmoking until, say, July, “They have to win that clientele back.” The board also gave its consent to a change in the language of the draft ordinance that would have made smoking illegal at events — including the annual block party — taking place on property owned or leased by the village. “Those are going to be the hardest things to police,” Janonis said. Read
Exceptions added to ban on smoking December 7, 2006
Benji Feldheim MT. PROSPECT -- Mt. Prospect trustees backed changes this week in a proposed smoking ban that would allow bars and restaurants to permit smoking in some indoor areas and outdoor courtyards. Trustees Richard Lohrstorfer, A. John Korn, Michael Zadel and Mayor Irvana Wilks favored the change, introduced so Mt. Prospect bars and restaurants could compete with establishments in neighboring villages, such as Wheeling and Arlington Heights, which have adopted similar exceptions, officials said. To qualify for the exception, barriers would have to be built and separate ventilation systems installed between smoking and non-smoking areas. "I think they're being fair," said Jim Pappas, owner of Pap's Ultimate Bar & Grill. "The fact that neighboring communities allow [smoking] is going to affect business. I hope everything works out and they give us a reasonable amount of time to get things done. It's not going to be cheap, but we have to do this to compete." Trustees Michaele Skowron, Timothy Corcoran and Paul Hoefert voted against the exceptions. "We made some amendments tonight that are in progress for clean air, some that are not," Corcoran said. "The best option is a statewide ban. It levels the playing field, and the state needs to step up and fix this thing. I think they abdicated responsibility." Maggie Osborne of the American Cancer Society said she was dissatisfied with the plan. "It is a smoking ordinance as it stands," she said. "The only true safe method is to have non-smoking throughout." The council will discuss the ordinance Dec. 19. Read
Debate but no vote on smoking ban in Mt. Prospect By Steve Zalusky, Daily Herald Staff Writer
November 22, 2006 At their final meeting before voting on a smoking ban, Mount Prospect village board members held their fire. “The silence on the board tonight doesn’t indicate one thing or another necessarily,” Trustee Paul Hoefert said. “We’re just waiting for the second reading (of the ordinance).” That second reading — and subsequent passage — is likely to occur Dec. 5. On Tuesday, the public was hardly silent on either side of the debate. Chris Sakkos, whose family owns Artemis Restaurant and Ice Cream Parlor at Golf and Busse roads, warned the board of financial hardships to local businesses. He told the board his father made the restaurant non-smoking in 1994. “We almost went under. That almost took four families under, just for us not having smoking.” The proposed ordinance bans smoking in: • Enclosed areas, with the exception of private dwelling unit spaces, such as homes and apartments, that are not licensed for such uses as child or adult care. • Within 15 feet of a door, window or ventilation air intake of an enclosed area. • Such public usage property as a parking deck or train platform. There are exceptions, one of them being that establishments with specific liquor licenses could operate lounges that allow smoking. But they would have to be sealed off from the nonsmoking areas and have separate ventilation systems. A supporter of the ban, Maggie Osborne of the American Cancer Society, complained about the latter exception, arguing it fails to protect the workers in those areas. She added that the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers has concluded there are no safe levels of exposure to secondhand smoke. An opponent of the ban, former village Trustee George Clowes, also criticized the ordinance, particularly for basing its findings on secondhand smoke on a criticized U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report. Clowes said appropriate measures should be worked out between businesses and the public, rather than the village imposing them. He added that if smoking in public areas is a problem, the village should consider banning incense in church and birthday candles in restaurants. Char Padovani of the American Cancer Society, however, responded to Clowes by saying that, according to the Surgeon General’s report, “There is no doubt that secondhand smoke causes death and disability. “In cigarettes, it has been shown that there are 50 cancer causing chemicals,” she said. “That’s not the same in incense or birthday candles.” Read
Board: Village's laws should pre-empt county smoking ban Aug. 31, 2006
NICOLE WAGNER Mount Prospect trustees say they need more time to determine the details, but they agreed the village should regulate smoking in public places. The village's Committee of the Whole discussed a smoking ban for a second time on Aug. 22. Five members of the committee — Mayor Irvana Wilks and Trustee Richard Lohrstorfer were absent — listened to public comments before discussing the issue among themselves. Trustees said they considered comments residents shared through a special e-mail address the village set up to gather opinions about a possible smoking ban. An "overwhelming majority" of those comments were in favor of a smoking ban, Village Manager Michael Janonis said. The village is considering its own smoking ordinance because a Cook County smoking ban is scheduled to go into effect in March 2007. The county ordinance bans smoking in bars, restaurants and other indoor workplaces, and that ordinance will apply to Mount Prospect unless the village designs its own smoking regulations. The trustees present —Timothy Corcoran, Paul Hoefert, John Korn, Michaele Skowron and Michael Zadel — all said they favored some type of smoking regulations. They did not decide any details of what types of places that would include, and they did not come to a consensus about whether they want a ban to include outdoor spaces. Hoefert said he's not sure if a ban should include bars. "The time has come to eliminate smoking from most public places," he said. Corcoran's comments indicated he was in favor of a more comprehensive smoking ban. "I don't want to become the ashtray of the northwest suburbs," Corcoran said. "That is unacceptable." Some business owners and residents attending the meeting spoke against a ban. Owners of Pap's Ultimate Bar and Grill at 1904 S. Elmhurst Road, asked the board to forgo a ban. They said their restaurant has filtration systems, and they will lose customers to other places without smoking bans. "There are smokers, and they have rights too," said Ted Pappas, one of Pap's owners. Forty-four-year Mount Prospect resident Paul Tait said he is opposed to a public smoking ban. "I am opposed to legislation banning smoking in restaurants, bars and other places which may be open to the general public," he said. "These places are still private property and their owners have all the tort liabilities associated with a public business. Some business owners have declared their premises as 'no-smoking' places, which is their right and their own business. "Other owners are willing to spend more money for better heating, ventilating and air conditioning to maintain an environment pleasing to their customers. This should be a business decision between the proprietor and his customers." The Village Board is expected to revisit the issue within the next month. Read
Mt. Prospect to hear more input on ban August 22, 2006
By Steve Zalusky, Daily Herald Staff Writer
Mount Prospect is getting nearer to passing a smoking ban. Tonight, the village board’s committee of the whole will hear once more from the public on the issue. “It’s getting to the point where the board is getting prepared to make some decisions,” Village Manager Michael Janonis said. If its last public hearing, on May 9, is any indication, the turnout should be small. Only three businesses spoke out last time, all from the restaurant industry, while one resident also spoke. One of the restaurants speaking out was Bogie’s Ale House, 303 E. Kensington Road. Vic Giovannini, vice president of Bogie’s Ale House, said he will be at the hearing. “If the whole state of Illinois does it, we’re in favor of it,” he said. “If you put everybody on the same playing field, it makes it a lot easier.” During its recent renovation, which also involved a name change from The Loft, the restaurant installed a ventilation system and now separates the bar where smoking is allowed from the restaurant area. Janonis said the village board is looking at the Cook County ordinance as the baseline for its own ordinance. He added that if the board does decide to go with something similar to the Cook County ordinance, it would still modify it to make sure that any fines go into Mount Prospect’s coffers. However, he said, “we’re not anticipating this is going to generate a lot of revenue at all. “Let’s face it. This is fairly self-regulating.” It is unlikely, for example, that the police would be called if somebody lights up a cigarette in a restaurant. The village has three options: It can do nothing and become subject to the county ordinance, adopt regulations that are more strict or adopt the Illinois Indoor Clean Air Act as the local standard. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. in the village hall, 50 S. Emerson St. Read
Business owners are wary of smoking ban
During a discussion about smoking regulations last week, restaurant and bar owners told Mount Prospect officials they fear a smoking ban will hurt business.
About a dozen restaurant and bar owners attended the May 9 Committee of the Whole discussion, the first of several expected meetings aimed at finding out whether the village should create its own smoking ban. Any official action on smoking regulations is not expected to be taken until later in the year, if at all.
Cook County passed a county-wide smoking ban that will take effect in March 2007 unless the village adopts its own regulations. The county ordinance, which passed in March, will ban smoking in bars, restaurants and other indoor workplaces. Private clubs like Elk or Moose lodges are exempt as are nursing homes.
Village Manager Michael Janonis said the village can choose to do nothing and allow the county's ban to become effective, adopt smoking regulations that are stricter than the county's or maintain the status quo.
Ted Pappas, who owns Pap's Ultimate Bar and Grill at 1904 S. Elmhurst Road, said he's concerned a smoking ban will push customers to other towns. He lost business after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks five years ago as United Airlines employees who used to be regulars came less often, he said. Business owners are dealing with rising energy costs too, he said.
"Do not do something like this to us because it will really hurt our business," he said.
Some restaurateurs told village officials about technology they use to fight cigarette smoke like filters and ventilation systems. Vic Giovannini, co-owner of Bogie's Ale House (formerly the Loft) at 303 E. Kensington Road, described renovations that closed the smoking section at the bar off from the rest of his restaurant. He said customers told him they avoided the Loft before the renovation because of the smoke.
"If you can seal off the smoking, that should suffice," Giovannini said. "Or if you can clean the air, that should be a good place to start."
On the other side of the issue, resident David Roe asked the village to adopt smoking regulations that would be stricter than the county's ordinance. He said he would like smoking eliminated from all public areas, and a smoking ordinance could mean more revenue from fines for the village. After restaurateurs said they use smoke-eating ventilation to improve air quality in smoking sections, Roe said those systems take in smoke particles but not all the chemicals found in cigarettes.
Trustee Paul Hoefert said he is comfortable restricting smoking; the question is how much to restrict.
Mayor Irvana Wilks said she personally does not mind smoking, but she can see both sides of the issue. She's concerned with how smoking violations would be enforced.
Mount Prospect's Village Board is expected to continue discussions about smoking regulations.
For those who could not make the meeting, Janonis said other smoking hearings will be scheduled when trustees and staff formulate their summer meeting schedule. Opinions can also be sent via e-mail or through the mail.
Letters can be sent to the Office of the Village Manager at 50 S. Emerson St., Mount Prospect, IL, 60056, and e-mail can be sent to smokingregs@mountprospect.org. Read
Businesses fear negative effects of smoking ban
May 5, 2005
BY DANIELLE BRAFF
STAFF WRITER
Mount Prospect business owners said a bill Illinois lawmakers are working on that would allow municipalities to ban smoking in restaurants and bars would hurt business.
Restaurants and bars in Mount Prospect are currently allowed to create their own smoking rules. If the bill passes, municipalities would be allowed to pass blanket smoking laws, possibly banning smoking in public places altogether. The Illinois House and Senate passed separate measures last month to give municipalities control over smoking options and they are working on reconciling the versions to create a single bill.
In the meantime, Mount Prospect businesses are fretting about the negative effects a smoking ban could have on their profits.
At Buffalo Wild Wings, 301 E. Euclid Ave., smoking is "very popular," said Dustin Meeker, manager, who worries that curbing smoking would result in fewer patrons. He witnessed the effects of a smoking ban on Buffalo Wild Wings in Skokie and doesn't want to see the loss of business it caused there following him to Mount Prospect.
Skokie is one of 20 communities that was allowed to ban smoking in public places through a 1989 loophole. At the time, a state law was created banning municipalities from controlling smoking in businesses, but Skokie already had its own law in place and was exempt from the legislation. Skokie offcials decided to ban smoking last summer and Buffalo Wild Wings immediately saw about a 20 percent drop in sales the first month, said Meeker, adding that business at the Skokie Buffalo Wild Wings is back to normal now.
"It hurt people on a personal level," Meeker said. "There were people who had to get other jobs because of this."
Manager Jeff Martinez of The Loft on Kensington, another Mount Prospect restaurant/bar, is also worried about a possible smoking ban. He estimates that about 30 percent of the customers at The Loft smoke.
"I don't think we have any right to take away anyone else's rights," Martinez said.
According to the Illinois Restaurant Association, 60 percent of businesses registered a decline in sales following a 1998 California smoking ban. The average decline was about 26 percent, said Andrew Ariens, spokesman for the association.
James Uszler, president of the Mount Prospect Chamber of Commerce, said if lawmakers decide to let municipalities ban smoking, he would approach village trustees to explain the problems a smoking ban would cause a business.
"I would like to let the businesses make their own law," he said. "I think certain businesses would suffer."
Those who support smoking bans, however, speak of the health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke for patrons and staff.
State Rep. Carolyn Krause, R-66th, of Mount Prospect, co-sponsored the bill allowing municipalities to make smoking decisions, citing the harm smoking has on people. Krause said she believes Mount Prospect officials should decide on smoking laws for the town's establishments.
"I believe a local government should make the decision if they wish to regulate smoking," Krause said.
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