Roselle panel postpones decision on smoking ban

November 1, 2006
By David Sharos, Special to the Tribune

After two hours of presentations and public comment about a possible smoking ban in Roselle, committee members voted Monday night to hold off on a vote, electing instead to see what direction either the state or county takes first.

The purpose of the committee of the whole meeting, which drew more than 60 people to Lake Park West High School, was to educate the public about the dangers of smoking and provide input for officials as to what direction the village should take.

A possible smoking ban in Roselle would present an unusual situation, because 20 percent of the village is in Cook County, which passed a smoking ban that will take effect in March. Cook County's home-rule authority allows it to have control over both its unincorporated and incorporated areas.

Mayor Gayle Smolinski said Monday that a group of mayors and DuPage County Board members are working on a task force to produce a smoking ban ordinance that they hope all DuPage communities can adopt.

"DuPage's jurisdiction at this point only affects the unincorporated areas in the county," Smolinski said.

Maureen McHugh, executive director of the DuPage County Health Department, said that a county proposal could be in place by July.

Several issues were raised Monday, the most common being what effect a smoking ban might have on businesses.

Committee members, including Trustee Joseph Devlin, referred to Roselle's need to "maintain a level playing field" and let each business decide whether to allow smoking.

"Roselle does not have a health department--that's the job of the county to decide those sorts of things," Devlin said. "I think each business should determine whether it chooses to be smoke free or not."

Diana Eckert, who is open to a local ordinance, said she saw the matter as a health hazard.

"I'm not in favor of totally banning smoking, but my concerns are about second-hand smoke," she said.

Eckert said she supports ban exemptions, which Village Administrator Jeff O'Dell noted are the biggest obstacles when smoking bans are discussed.

"The big four [exemptions] involve hotels and motels, private clubs and nursing homes, and individual residences," O'Dell said.

Resident Cindy Schramm, active in the village's Lioness Club and the women's auxiliary of the American Legion, attended Monday's meeting.

"A lot of business owners have fears when smoking is banned--this is their lives on the line," she said. "It's their credit lines, their gain or loss, and this should be their choice. The village feels free to collect the tax dollars, but yet it wants to take away their right to have a choice."

Daryl Cooper, who owns a wine-tasting business in Roselle, said the Village Board needs to pass the smoking ban.

"This issue concerns the public heath and safety," he said. "Government has slowly been coming around to changing the message and advertising about tobacco, and this is the next step. It's important to establish a position."
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Roselle officials discuss merits of smoking ban
By Kat Zeman
November 01, 2006
Unless someone forces them to do it, Roselle village officials do not plan to ban smoking in public places anytime soon.
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Sending signals about a Roselle smoking ban

July 18, 2006
Kat Zeman

Banning smoking in public places will soon find itself on the discussion table in Roselle.

The Roselle village board discussed the possibility of adopting a smoking ban Monday and decided to host a public hearing to give residents, business owners and private clubs a voice on the issue.

A date for the hearing has not been set yet.

The discussion will focus on banning smoking in public places such as restaurants, bars and even private clubs.

Most village trustees weren’t keen on the idea of banning smoking in all public places but didn’t mind hosting a meeting to discuss the issue. But trustees Ron Sass and Terrence Wittman vigorously opposed the ban and did not favor moving forward with public hearing.

“I am not a smoker,” Wittman said. “But at the same time this is America. I’m really tired of a lot of political correctness, telling people what they can or cannot do … (allowing smoking) is for the business owner to decide. I won’t vote for any smoking ban.”

Sass, a smoker, also said that that the decision should be left to the business owner and expressed concern about how this law would be enforced.

“I don’t believe it’s our position to be involved with (passing a ban),” Sass said.

So far, only two DuPage County communities — Hinsdale and Burr Ridge — have passed a smoking ban. Wheaton has discussed it and plans another meeting on Aug. 14. In Naperville, an anti-smoking group is pressing the city council to adopt it.

Mayor Gayle Smolinski, who presented the issue to the village board, said Schaumburg, Palatine, Streamwood and Rolling Meadows are considering a ban and that she supports it. She said the new surgeon general’s report on the dangers of secondhand smoke made her take notice. She does not believe it would hurt local businesses.

“The knee-jerk reaction is that business is going to suffer,” Smolinski said. “But there’s not evidence to back up those claims.”

Smolinski presented a copy of Schaumburg’s proposed smoking ban — one that would ban smoking in all public places such as restaurants, bars and private clubs by January 2007 — as an example of what Roselle could adopt.

Several residents came to the meeting Tuesday to inquire about the smoking ban. Some were concerned about the impact it would have on private clubs, whereas others just plainly opposed the issue.

“We have reached a point where too many liberties have been taken away from us,” Roselle resident Ron French said.

Nonsmoker John Dwyer, owner of Diamond Lil’s bar in Roselle, said that enforcing such a law would be difficult and that Roselle should not consider it until the rest of the world adopts it.

“We all know this is coming,” he said. “But I don’t think we should be the flag wavers.”

The village board plans to notify all businesses and organizations that would be impacted by a smoking ban when it sets a date for a hearing.
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