Elk Grove Update
Elk Grove must ban wood smoke
12/5/2007
Soaring asthma and autism rates in our cities correspond with skyrocketing fine particulate pollution, caused mostly by vehicle exhaust and wood smoke.
When fine particulate pollution goes up, people die-from asthma attacks, heart attacks and even sudden infant death syndrome.
Burning for fun is wreaking havoc and infiltrating our lungs, air, water and crops with deadly pollutants that harm both man and the planet. Are we OK with this?
As the Midwestern director for Clean Air Revival, an international organization dedicated to providing scientific information on the hazards of wood smoke, I have been involved with the Elk Grove Village community in fighting wood smoke. I spoke in favor of reinstating the one-time progressive ban on outdoor recreational burning at its town hall meeting in October .
While Mayor Craig Johnson is concerned with stopping smoking by educational means, equally needed is a major educational campaign on the harms of wood smoke!
Just as the Illinois Smoking Ban will help people quit smoking and protect others from secondhand smoke, so would a wood-burning ban help people stop polluting for fun, and protect others from the fine particulate fallout.
We must ban wood burning now.
Julie Mellum Midwestern Director Clean Air Revival Minneapolis Read
Smoking ban will take effect on January 1 March 30, 2006 BY MATT KIEFER, STAFF WRITER A cigarette smoking ban will go into effect in Elk Grove Village sooner than previously planned; the Village Board approved an ordinance Tuesday night that will prohibit smoking in public establishments as of Jan. 1, 2007. Read
The ordinance has not yet been passed, but includes this provision. Nice way to drive away businesses.....
"Currently, the village has 46 outlets that sell tobacco. They pay $100 annually for a license, but under the new proposal, an estimated 38 small-scale retail outlets, including some bars and liquor stores, will be required to pay $1,000 for that same license. Large retail outlets -- including Walgreens, Dominick's and Jewel -- will be required to pay $5,000 for the license.
Proceeds from the fee hike, which Johnson introduced for the first time during Tuesday's meeting, will go to the village Health Department to fund an anti-smoking campaign, including educational programs and smoking cessation classes. "
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Smoking ban blows through committee
March 2, 2006
BY PATRICK CORCORAN
STAFF WRITER
Smokers in Elk Grove Village would have to snuff their cigarettes before walking into a bar, restaurant and private business beginning March 1, 2007, under a ban approved by the Committee of the Whole on Tuesday night.
The committee voted down a second proposal that would have prohibited the sale of tobacco products in the village. Instead, the Village Board will consider an ordinance that will increase by 50-fold the cost of a one-year license to sell tobacco products for some retailers.
If approved, the new fees would go into effect June 1.
The Village Board will vote on both items on March 14 with a final vote scheduled for March 28. But a 4-2 Committee of the Whole vote Tuesday indicated the smoking ban would likely pass.
Both proposals were opposed by Trustees Chris Prochno and Nancy Czarnik, who said that the ban put an unfair burden on the village's bars, restaurants and retail outlets.
"They feel imposed upon," said Prochno. "Every one of them has been in business for years and they are used to doing things a certain way. Then, something like this comes along that they have no control over."
Prochno said she thinks the local ban will force patrons who smoke to other communities.
Mayor Craig Johnson, on the other hand, said the smoking ban will allow businesses, as well as the village, to market themselves as smoke-free.
While it has yet to be drafted, the smoking ban affects restaurants, bars, banquet halls and the bowling alley, playgrounds, ball fields and private businesses, according to village attorney George Knickerbocker. Under the ordinance, smoking will be banned throughout Rotary Fest -- including the midway -- except under a designated tent. The ban also includes an area extending 10 feet from the doorway of all stores and businesses.
Although the new law will be enforced on a complaint basis only, violators will be ticketed and required to make a court appearance where they will be subject to a fine of $25 to $500.
Smokers won't be the only ones penalized under the proposed ordinances.
Currently, the village has 46 outlets that sell tobacco. They pay $100 annually for a license, but under the new proposal, an estimated 38 small-scale retail outlets, including some bars and liquor stores, will be required to pay $1,000 for that same license. Large retail outlets -- including Walgreens, Dominick's and Jewel -- will be required to pay $5,000 for the license.
Proceeds from the fee hike, which Johnson introduced for the first time during Tuesday's meeting, will go to the village Health Department to fund an anti-smoking campaign, including educational programs and smoking cessation classes.
Johnson said those businesses are doing a disservice to the community and should pay for it.
"This is who is making huge profits. We should be able to use this money for something positive. They are the ones contributing to the problem," he said.
About 75 residents and business owners crowded the Charles Zettek Municipal Center to discuss the proposed bans on Monday evening.
Members of the medical community were among those who spoke in favor of the bans.
Aladin Mariano, a cardiovascular surgeon at Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove, said the smoking ban and the prohibition of tobacco sales will come at a short-term cost, but in the long term, the benefits will be worth the sacrifice.
"I care about Elk Grove Village and this ban will have an economic impact, no doubt about it. But when I see patients and people in the community and the high incidence of lung cancer and coronary disease ... I have to pause. This will certainly affect my livelihood. I make money by operating ... I have to make a choice between my livelihood and life, and I choose life over economics," he said.
Mariano said fear is causing the opposition.
"Imagine a world that was never introduced to smoking. We wouldn't even notice it. But now we have to be afraid to get rid of smoking for economic reasons? Are we powerless to do anything? No, we can get rid of smoking."
Bar and restaurant patrons, employees and owners disagreed.
Resident Jeff Davis said the community, on principle, should not let the Village Board dictate the village's smoking policy to residents.
"Who are we to force this policy on the backs of the people in our village. This policy is driving a wedge through this town and we need to stop that," he said. "We are just trying to be the first ones on the block to make this change. We are trying to be New York or California. Why can't we just be Elk Grove?"
Kevin Parks, who smokes when he visits the Where Else Bar & Grill and the Elk Grove Bowl, said the ban would force bar patrons to other towns.
"This is our time to relax at the bar and have a couple drinks. The smokes go well with out drinks and if the ban was put in place, I'd consider going to another town," he said. "Sorry, I like to smoke."
Compelling testimony on the prohibition of tobacco sales came from petroleum industry officials who said they would close numerous gas stations in the community if the proposed ordinance was approved.
Kim Kemper, a regional operations manager with Exxon Mobil Corp. said tobacco sales make up roughly 60 percent of total sales at the company's three Elk Grove locations.
"We're very concerned about the viability long term of our stores if we can no longer sell tobacco," she said. "Losing 60 percent of our sales means, unfortunately, we will have to close our doors."
Thornton's, Inc. president Matt Thornton, who traveled from Louisville, Ky., to attend the meeting on Monday, said a tobacco ban will cause him to close Thornton's only Elk Grove location.
"It's important that this group understand the convenience store model -- the simple fact is we do a ton of business, but it is a high volume, low margin game. We use cigarettes to drive people into stores to buy other things. Without tobacco sales at this location, we would close our doors," he said.
Tobacco sales account for about 50 percent of total sales at the Elk Grove Thornton's.
The March 14 meeting will allow public comments but only in writing.
Johnson said it is unlikely the village will again open up either issue for a public forum like the one Monday night that attracted scores of residents and business owners.
Village bans smoking in bars, restaurants
March 1, 2006
BY LISA DONOVAN Staff Reporter
By the end of the month, Elk Grove Village will line up behind Chicago and impose a ban on smoking in restaurants, bars and all businesses, as well as public outdoor venues, such as the bleachers at a baseball game or on a public playground.
On Tuesday night, the village board and mayor voted 5-2 to approve the ordinance at a final meeting on the matter March 28 -- the same day it will take effect. The ban does give bars and restaurants some latitude -- smoking is allowed in an outdoor area that is 10 feet from the main entrance, said Mayor Craig B. Johnson.
The mayor had hoped to ban tobacco sales in the northwest suburb, but that measure failed. Instead, the village is bumping up its $100 licensing fee to those outlets that sell tobacco. Smaller stores, such as gas stations and convenience stores, will pay a $1,000 annual fee, while the larger box stores will be asked to pay $5,000. The new licensing fee will go into effect June 1.
"Even though I'm disappointed we couldn't ban tobacco sales, we'll have the effect of deterring businesses from selling it. I'm still optimistic we can do it, but I'm a political realist and we didn't have the votes for it tonight," Johnson said.
Tougher than Chicago's?
On Jan. 16, Chicago's smoking ban hit virtually every indoor facility except bars, some restaurants and your own home. The ban in bars doesn't take effect until 2008.
Asked how the Elk Grove Village ordinance compares to Chicago's, Johnson said his community's ban is tougher.
"I think ours is more encompassing," he said. "We don't give an option to get a ventilation system."
Suburb ready to ban smoking, not sales
By Robert Channick
Special to the Tribune
February 28, 2006
Elk Grove Village trustees gave preliminary approval Tuesday night to a ban on smoking in public places but abandoned a controversial plan to outlaw tobacco sales in the village.
"I'm happy the village is moving in the right direction, but I'm disappointed that we couldn't remove the source of the problem," Mayor Craig Johnson said.
The Village Board voted 4-2 to draft an ordinance to ban smoking in all public places, including bars, restaurants, parks and outdoor festivals, and within 10 feet of the entrances of private businesses.
Opposition voiced by business owners during a public forum Monday night persuaded the board to look for an alternative to a tobacco-sale ban.
In lieu of a sale prohibition, the board proposed an increase in annual licensing fees for tobacco retailers from $50 to $5,000 for businesses of more than 9,000 square feet and $1,000 for others. The money would be used for programs to curb smoking among village residents.
Forty-six establishments are licensed to sell tobacco products in the village, and Johnson estimated that the fees would generate $60,000 to $80,000 for the programs.
The board will review the ordinance March 14, with a final vote March 28. If approved, the new licensing fees will take effect June 1, and the smoking ban will become law March 1, 2007.
At the forum Monday, nearly 200 people packed Village Hall for the final opportunity to discuss the proposed laws. Opponents outnumbered supporters during the lengthy public comment session, with several business owners warning that the changes would prove hazardous to their fiscal health.
Rick Cotini, owner of the Ringside Sports Bar, 554 E. Devon Ave., said his survival is at stake.
"I've got 50 percent smokers, 50 percent non-smokers," Cotini said. "I really believe I would lose at least half of the smokers.
"We just don't have deep pockets. I've got my house on the line, I've got kids in college. It would hurt, and I don't know if we could sustain it."
Andrea Koshaba, a 20-year resident and a smoker, said: "If we're so concerned about everyone's health, are we next going to be taking children out of smoking households? It's just going too far."
Fred Renzetti, who has lived in Elk Grove Village for 38 years, favored smoking restrictions in public places but opposed a ban on tobacco sales.
"If tobacco products are legal, they should be allowed to be sold," he said. "I've heard so many people stand up here and say if you don't let us smoke in public places, you're taking away our rights. What about the rights of people who don't smoke to breathe non-smoky air?"
The village collects $20,000 to $25,000 per year on tobacco sales. Although some municipalities have smoking restrictions in public areas and workplaces, the ban on tobacco sales would have been unprecedented.
"It's not about being the first in the world," Johnson said Monday. "It's about what we think is in the best interest of this village."
Matt Thornton, president and owner of Thorntons, a Louisville-based gas and convenience store chain, said the company has invested $3.5 million in its York Road and Devon Avenue location in the last 10 years and a ban would affect 14 employees.
"Without tobacco sales at this location, we would close our doors," Thornton said. "I feel it's a very slippery slope if we start to legislate what our citizens can and can't buy. What if obesity becomes a bigger deal? What's next, cheeseburgers, ice cream?"
Bob Tobiasz, a Schaumburg-based market manager for 7-Eleven stores, including three in Elk Grove Village, said there is no debate about smoking and health, but sales is another matter.
"The numbers don't work in the convenience-store industry without the sale of cigarettes," Tobiasz said. "It won't impact it, it will ruin it."
Some residents would prefer that officials not try to legislate the matter.
"Let the market dictate it. Things will change by themselves," said Jeffrey Smith. "This issue is driving a wedge right down the middle of our town."
Smoking Ban Talk Concerns Businesses
FEBRUARY 9, 2006
By CRAIG ADAMS
Journal Reporter
Opposition to a proposed smoking ban in Elk Grove Village is growing in the business community, but Mayor Craig Johnson says he hasn't heard it.
The bills banning smoking and banning the sale of cigarettes passed out of committee two to one, Johnson said. The JPZ (Judiciary, Planning, and Zoning) committee recommended both issues back to the full board." He expects the issues to be decided at the Feb. 28 village board meeting.
However, one business owner made his feelings clear. "If the mayor wants to pass this non-smoking ban, that will pretty much put us out of business," said John Bravos of the Where Else Lounge, 1190 E Higgins Rd.
Bravos is very concerned because of the results of similar proposals in nearby towns. "All the surrounding towns have voted it down: Des Plaines, Schaumburg, Arlington Heights." Bravos feels his customers will go to those towns instead of to his business. "All they have to do is go a couple blocks over to a surrounding town and smoke and have a drink," he said. "It would be devastating."
Several businesses the ban would affect are starting petitions, he said. "There are a lot of people that are against it."
Johnson disagrees. "I'm surprised how quiet it's been," he said. He added the village would set up a special board meeting between Feb. 20 and 26 "solely for gathering input from the public and businesses". This will be the third public meeting on this issue, he explained. "The same people came to the first meeting as the second meeting," he said. About 20 attended both gatherings and were split in their opinions. "Almost as many people that are for as against it," he said.
Proponents of the bill argue that business will gain customers among non-smokers. Bravos argues with that idea. "If you lose 50 to 60 percent and pick up 10 or 20 percent, it's not enough to sustain anything," he explained. "It's pretty much just going to put us out of business."
He also worries about what would happen to the town if his and other businesses start to close. "If these go out of business, they're (the village board) going to have to find the revenue somewhere else," he said. "The property tax is going to go up for residents."
Bravos also worries about businesses that sell cigarettes in town, another commodity that might be banned by the village board. "What about the people who own gas stations?" he asked. He thinks people will drive to a neighboring town to buy their gasoline and cigarettes, closing other businesses in Elk Grove. "It's mind boggling that they would even assume to pass something like this."
Johnson related that one business owner he spoke to owns a gas station in town who told him that sales of cigarettes have been way down already. "It's not the hot issue it once was," he said.
Bravos hopes that other residents will help in his fight against village hall. "This is America. More and more you're being told what you can do and what you can't do. What's the next thing they're going to tell us; drinking is bad for you? Will they bring prohibition back?" He added, "You've got to try to fight it and get your point across and hopefully they'll understand."
"I think people are resigned to the idea," Johnson said. He believes the trustees will examine the issue properly and make a decision. He would not speculate on which way they might vote.
Bravos believes that the town will not be able to rebound if his predictions prove true. "People are going to get hurt. People are going to lose their jobs. People are going to lose their businesses." Read
Who else would ban smoking?
Local mayors would consider a prohibition in the region
Jan. 19, 2006 - Pioneer Press
BY PATRICK CORCORAN
STAFF WRITER
If Elk Grove Village bans smoking in restaurants, will Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg follow suit? Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod and Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson say, "Not so fast."
Both McLeod and Larson said earlier this week that a unilateral ban on smoking in bars and restaurants in either village could drive patrons to dine and drink in neighboring communities such as Palatine and Wheeling, putting local businesses at a competitive disadvantage.
But a regional or statewide solution could get Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg on board. Both mayors said they are willing to keep their options open at least until after the Northwest Municipal Conference surveys its 40-member communities as part of an evaluation of smoking laws currently in place and the level of interest in a ban that would cut across the northwest suburbs.
Elk Grove officials have indicated they might follow the Chicago's lead and join a growing number of towns with restaurant smoking bans.
Elk Grove Mayor Craig Johnson has even proposed a villagewide ban on the sale of tobacco products, the first of its kind in the country.
A village Health Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday is expected to kick off a series of discussions on the smoking issue with a final vote in Elk Grove Village tentatively scheduled for February or March.
McLeod said the Chicago's ban has put a lot of pressure on other suburbs to follow suit, including his.
"Chicago's deal dropped a nuclear bomb. The city is a huge player and that decision is causing many suburban communities to reevaluate their policies," he said.
McLeod said officials will have to decide if the dangers of second-hand smoke in local bars and restaurants warrants laws that protect restaurant workers.
"We all agree smoking is bad for people, but people do a lot of things that are bad for them. At issue for us is the workplace environment and how smoking affects people who do not smoke," he said.
Larson said Schaumburg's 170 restaurants and the Schaumburg Convention Center, which is scheduled to open this summer, would suffer under a ban. The village already has ordinances in place that restrict smoking to a large extent, he said.
"Smoking is regulated in public places in Schaumburg. Restaurants of a certain size are required to have smoking and non-smoking sections. We are already making certain places smoke-free," Larson said.
Larson and McLeod said if members of the Northwest Municipal Conference are amenable to a regional ban, then they would reconsider.
Although Hoffman Estates and Schaumburg might not be ready, many communities across the state and country have proved willing. Locally, Deerfield, Highland Park, Skokie and Wilmette join Chicago with restaurant smoking bans. Park Ridge officials will consider one next week.
Larson said the state has the power to eliminate smoking in restaurants and bars, but legislators won't touch the issue, particularly in an election year.
"It's too controversial," he said.
However, a bill that would snuff out smoking in public places statewide, restaurants, bars and bowling alleys, has been introduced in the Illinois General Assembly.
Sponsored by State Rep. Annazette Collins, D-10th, of Chicago, House Bill 4338 amends the Illinois Clean Indoor Air Act to also prohibit smoking within 15 feet of the entrance to a public place.
The bill would allow restaurants and bars to establish a designated smoking area on their premises for up to two years after the effective date of the act, provided the smoking area is equipped with devices to reduce second-hand smoke.
Collins said the proposed legislation is nearly identical to the city of Chicago's new smoking ordinance.
"In the end, I just feel it's going to save lives and I feel that people who don't smoke shouldn't be subjected to second-hand smoke," she said.
The bill is expected to be referred to committee next week.
Suburban Chicago mayor proposes ban on tobacco sales
January 12, 2006
ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson has proposed banning all tobacco sales.
The village already has been considering a smoking ban in public places like those already adopted in Chicago and other suburbs.
But at this week's village board meeting, Johnson said Elk Grove Village should consider banning the sale of all forms of tobacco, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes and chewing tobacco.
Johnson says overriding health concerns trump sales tax revenue considerations.
The mayor says he thinks the village could withstand a legal challenge if it banned all tobacco sales. But Illinois Attorney General's office spokeswoman Melissa Merz said yesterday she couldn't immediately determine whether or not it would be legal.
Suburban Mayor Proposes Ban On Tobacco Sales
Community Already Considering Smoking Ban
Jan 12, 2006
Rafael Romo
Reporting
(CBS) ELK GROVE VILLAGE, Ill. His name is Craig Johnson, and as the mayor of Elk Grove Village, a community northwest of Chicago, he's trying to accomplish what may be a first for this country.
He's trying to ban the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products.
"My feeling is, if we are really going to address the problem, which is tobacco use is bad, go to the source, which is tobacco itself. And the way you go to the source is you stop the sale of it," said Mayor Johnson.
The village already has been considering a smoking ban in public places like those already adopted in Chicago and other suburbs.
But at this week's village board meeting, Johnson said Elk Grove Village should consider banning the sale of all forms of tobacco, including cigarettes, cigars, pipes and chewing tobacco.
Johnson says overriding health concerns trump sales tax revenue considerations.
But he faces an uphill battle, to put it mildly. Even people who don't smoke are opposed to the idea.
"Smokers would go right to DuPage County right next door to purchase all their cigarettes, and then, wouldn't that be tax money going to another county?" asked resident Conny Christensen.
By the mayor's own estimate, between 75 and 100 businesses would be affected.
"That's going to lead to, possibly, the closing of some store in Elk Grove Village. You loose 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent of your sales, because people aren't shopping at your store, now you're talking about jobs," said Peter Gill of the Illinois Retail Merchants Association.
"It's probably going to hurt some of the businesses here, but because I'm a pharmacist, a medical professional, I feel he's probably doing the right thing," said pharmacy owner Steven Tong.
"The bottom line is: no one has said that cigarettes or tobacco use is good," said Mayor Johnson. "As a matter of fact, everyone has said, including the tobacco makers themselves, that even one cigarette is detrimental to your health."
The mayor says he thinks the village could withstand a legal challenge if it banned all tobacco sales. But Illinois Attorney General's office spokeswoman Melissa Merz said yesterday she couldn't immediately determine whether or not it would be legal.
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