Oak Park Update
The Antis haven't even waited two months.....as usual, they just won't take "No" for an answer. It seems Mr. Peysakhovich doesn't even believe in diplomacy. Insulting previous members of a village board is not the way to influence residents!
"We believe the new board will be more predisposed to give it a fair hearing," said Mark Peysakhovich, a member of Smoke-Free Oak Park, the citizens group fighting for an indoor smoking ban. "The previous board did a shoddy job of fleshing the issue out."
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The United Pro Choice Smokers Rights Newsletter - http://www.smokersclubinc.com
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mailto:garnetdawn@comcast.net - Respect Freedom of Choice!
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Smoking ban group plans to renew Oak Park push
BY CHERI BENTRUP
STAFF WRITER
Proponents of a local smoking ban are planning to renew their push for an Oak Park ordinance that would prohibit smoking in all public places, including restaurants.
Oak Park trustees at their March 7 meeting voted 5-2 against such a ban. That was before the April 5 election which brought a new board majority.
"We believe the new board will be more predisposed to give it a fair hearing," said Mark Peysakhovich, a member of Smoke-Free Oak Park, the citizens group fighting for an indoor smoking ban. "The previous board did a shoddy job of fleshing the issue out."
The new board was sworn in Monday with independent David Pope as president. As a village trustee, Pope had voted against the smoking ban in March. Pope had said his no vote was because he was not in favor of an immediate ban, but instead hoped for some sort of compromise or phase-in for existing businesses.
Peysakhovich said his group plans to meet with Pope to see how he would like to proceed, and has begun talking with the newly elected trustees.
"I haven't met with anyone on either side of the issue since the election," Pope said Monday.
Pope said he wants to see what kind of priority the ban is among the board members.
"That, along with a host of other issues, is something we will look at through the goal-setting session," Pope said. "It will depend on how the board as a whole feels on the issue."
Pesaykhovich said he's not in any hurry.
"We have one goal and that's to have a 100 percent smoke-free ordinance in Oak Park," Peysakhovich said. "None of us are really in a hurry. If it happens within six months, that's good. If it's a year, that's OK, too. We're not going anywhere. All of us love Oak Park; we all live here."
Aside from Pope, Trustees Robert Milstein and Ray Johnson are the other two remaining members from the Village Board who voted on the smoking ban in March. At that time, Milstein supported the ban, Johnson did not.
"I think we have good people on the board and responsive people," Peysakhovich said. "We believe the new board is comprised of very thoughtful people concerned about the health of Oak Parkers."
Highland Park on April 25 became the latest Illinois community, and the first in Lake County, to pass a smoking ban. Peysakhovich said Highland Park can be compared to Oak Park in that it borders Highwood, a North Shore dining destination, just as Oak Park borders Forest Park. Highland Park's ordinance is set to take effect June 1.
"The wealthier a person is, the wealthier the community, the fewer smokers," Peysakhovich said, adding that has been proven with research. "We know the 75-plus percent of nonsmokers are going to want to come or stay here rather than leaving" to dine where they can smoke, he said, based on a survey Smoke-Free Oak Park conducted last year.
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/
Village Board votes down smoking ban
March 8, 2005
OAK PARK -- A proposed ban on smoking in public places was defeated 5-2 Monday night by the Oak Park Village Board.
The ban would have prevented smoking in restaurants, bars and all other public places in the village.
After hearing from three people in favor and three against, some trustees asked that the issue be postponed for more study. And before the vote on imposing the ban, trustees defeated an amendment that would have allowed certain businesses to be exempted if they could make a case of economic hardship.
Village President Joanne Trapani voted against the ban and said it was matter of personal freedom. "I have a choice to go someplace where there is smoking or not," she said.
At public hearings on the issue over the last couple of months, the lines of battle were drawn between cancer survivors and restaurant and bar owners.
Oak Park's existing ordinance prohibits smoking in enclosed public places but excludes bars, restaurants, theater lobbies and health facilities.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Smoking ban hearing attracts foes, friends
February 23, 2005
BY CHERI BENTRUP
STAFF WRITER
Everyone who attended the Feb. 15 public hearing on Oak Park's proposed smoking ban seemed to agree on one thing - smoking is bad for your health.
But the debate continued on whether smoking is a right, whether a ban will hurt local restaurants and whether public health concerns outweigh other considerations.
Eighty-one people commented during the public hearing hosted by the Oak Park Health Board, and written comments were to be taken through Tuesday.
Videotapes of the hearing, along with written testimony, will be forwarded to village trustees who are expected to discuss the proposed smoking ban during a 7:30 p.m. March 2 study session at Village Hall. No public comment is typically taken during study sessions.
Some speakers last week noted Oak Park restaurants already provide choices to smokers and nonsmokers. A Health Department list of 111 eating establishments shows 77, or 70 percent, are non-smoking. But ban proponents are quick to note the list includes places such as Cheney Mansion, 220 N. Euclid Ave.; Hole in the Wall, 901 S. Oak Park Ave., and the Oak Park Arms, 408 S. Oak Park Ave., which they don't consider public restaurants.
"It really skews it," said Oak Parker Mark Peysakovich of the American Heart Association. "There's really not that much choice among fine-dining places where you can sit down."
"Oak Park is not without nonsmoking establishments," said Jim August, owner of Cafe Le Coq at 734 Lake St., a smoke-free restaurant. "As a restaurant owner I should have the right to decide what my business will be."
August said the debate for a smoke-free environment belongs in Springfield, because he's concerned that a local smoking ban would place an undue burden on Oak Park's restaurants.
"To focus on Oak Park is not the solution," agreed Mike O'Neill, representing the Oak Park-River Forest Chamber of Commerce.
Proponents of the ban, though, said a statewide ban will never happen unless it occurs first in municipalities.
"The majority of people who live in Oak Park want to be protected" from smoke while dining out, said Dr. Lloyd Klein, citing results of a survey commissioned by Smoke-Free Oak Park.
Several physicians who attended the hearing noted that studies have proven second hand smoke contains numerous carcinogens, contributes to heart and lung diseases and triggers asthma attacks.
"It's up to us as individuals to decide whether we should smoke or not," said Helen Louros of Al's Grill at 1100 W. Madison St. "We can't allow government to take away our choices in this country. We want the choice in our business to say you can smoke or not."
Michael Pace, owner of LaBella and the Avenue Ale House, said he would lose not only business if the ban is passed, but employees. Between the two restaurants, Pace said, he employees 150 people.
"This whole thing is ludicrous," Pace said. "In today's economy that's the last thing we need. This is crazy. We're talking about economics, not health. You have a choice of where you want to eat and work."
LaBella employee Barbara Folan agreed.
"You have choice to eat in a restaurant or not," she said. "I too have a choice (of where to work) and I'm staying until the doors close. Don't make me your sacrificial lamb."
Restaurant owners predicted they would lose sales to other communities where patrons have the choice to smoke. Smoking-ban proponents argued no study confirms that, and most show an increase in overall receipts after a ban is enacted.
"Maybe my sales will go up, but I can't be certain of that," said "M" Matthiesen, a bartender at LaBella. "We must maintain a level economic playing field."
Many who spoke said the issue is purely a matter of public health.
"When I go out to eat I think it's reasonable for the air to be safe to breathe, just as the food is safe to eat and the water safe to drink," said Elaine Pekovsek of the 800 block of South Kenilworth Avenue.
"Oftentimes I see little children in the smoking session. They don't have a choice," said four-time cancer survivor Yvonne Cisco of the 1100 block of North Harvey Avenue. "If our water was polluted, we'd do something about it."
Alex Sawczynec of the 500 block of North Lombard Avenue was among several high school student athletes who spoke.
"I ask you, what about my choice? Where's my choice to preserve my own lungs?" he asked. "Eighty-seven percent of Oak Park does not smoke. These restaurants are catering to 13 percent of Oak Park's population, which is next to nothing. Oak Park really wants this ban."
Some speakers said the village hasn't done enough to publicize the number of nonsmoking restaurants that already exist.
Mark Zinthefer of the 600 block of South Harvey Avenue said he was disappointed to hear Oak Park is considering the smoking ban. He was surprised to learn the Health Department has a list of smoke-free restaurants in Oak Park, but he never saw it publicized anywhere.
"I had to write in and get it mailed to me," he said. "It is the choice of the consumer, employee and restaurant owner."
Others said an ordinance would do more good than education. "Education is clearly not enough," said Christine Taggart of the 200 block of Washington Boulevard. "Sometimes the only way to protect the public health, and the workers, is through policy."
"We cannot let a few business owners stand in the way of your health, and my health," said Barbara Hausman of the 400 block of North East Avenue.
Cheri Bentrup can be reached at cbentrup@pioneerlocal.com.
http://www.pioneerlocal.com/
Smoking-ban hearing is OKd
Oak Park gives proposal a boost
January 19, 2005
By Maria Kantzavelos
Special to the Tribune
The Oak Park Village Board voted late Tuesday to give the town's Board of Health the go-ahead to conduct a public hearing on a proposal to ban smoking in all public places, including restaurants.
About 100 people jammed the Village Board meeting, where about 25 people on both sides of the issue spoke before trustees began their own debate. The board voted 5-2 to allow the Board of Health to conduct a hearing on the advisory commission's proposed ban.
"A cross-section of the community should be provided an opportunity to step forward and have their day in court," said Trustee Galen Gockel.
Citing studies outlining the dangers of exposure to secondhand smoke, public health officials, as well as a contingent of anti-smoking advocates, are pushing for a stronger, more comprehensive ordinance.
"People deserve the right to health, deserve the right to a long life in Oak Park," Dr. Patrick Tranmer, an Oak Park resident, told the board.
Many business owners have taken a stand against the proposal, saying they would lose money as patrons head to nearby towns. They also say it would violate their freedom to run their businesses as they see fit.
"If you're going to stack the odds against us, you're going to see a lot of us close our doors. We can't compete," Michael Pace, who owns two restaurants in Oak Park, told the board.
Oak Park is one of 20 municipalities in Illinois with the authority to implement smoking restrictions more stringent than those outlined in the state's clean-air law because a related ordinance has been on its books since before Oct. 1, 1989. The village's current ordinance on smoking in public places excludes several establishments, such as bars, restaurants, theater lobbies and health facilities.
The findings from the public hearing and related research will be forwarded to the Village Board for review before it makes a final decision.
In the Chicago area, new smoking restrictions have been approved recently in Skokie, Wilmette and Evanston.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Smoking-ban talk fires up Oak Park
January 18, 2005
By Maria Kantzavelos
Special to the Tribune
If people in Skokie and Italy can snub out their smokes in public places, then Oak Park residents should, too, clean-air advocates say.
On Tuesday, the village's Board of Health is expected to ask policymakers to consider an ordinance that would prohibit smoking in all public places in the village, including restaurants. The Board of Health, an advisory commission to the Village Board, wants approval to conduct public hearings on the issue, a move that would mark the first step toward enacting a comprehensive ban.
Oak Park is among the few communities in Illinois with the authority to supersede the state's clean-air law, which only requires designated smoking areas in public places, excluding factories and warehouses. Communities are not allowed to enact policies more stringent than the state law unless they had smoking regulations in place before Oct. 1, 1989.
In Oak Park an ordinance regulating smoking was enacted in March 1989, but it does not include public places such as bars, restaurants, theater lobbies and health facilities.
The issue of a more comprehensive anti-smoking restriction has been on the Board of Health's table for the last year, said Georgeen Polyak, the village's director of public health. The board reviewed scientific data related to secondhand smoke and heard comments from residents, medical professionals, restaurant owners and business representatives before deciding to bring the issue before the Village Board.
In recent months, community activists, called the Campaign for a Smoke-Free Oak Park, have been lobbying the Board of Health and village policymakers to support the ban, stressing the health hazards associated with secondhand smoke.
"This is not a radical idea; this is really basic, public health," said Dr. David Ansell, a member who is chairman of the internal medicine department at Mt. Sinai Hospital in Chicago and an Oak Park resident.
Ansell cited studies identifying exposure to secondhand smoke as the third-leading cause of preventable death in the country.
"If it was a water issue, there would be no question--that's how toxic these substances are," he said.
In the Chicago area, new smoking restrictions have been enacted in Skokie, Wilmette and Evanston, with Wilmette having the strictest anti-smoking ordinance in the state. In that village, smoking is prohibited in nearly all indoor public places, including restaurants, bars, bowling alleys and country clubs.
Nationally, laws banning smoking in enclosed public places have been implemented in several states, including California, Connecticut, New York and Massachusetts. A growing number of countries have become smoke-free, too, including Italy and Ireland.
Downtown Oak Park, a business association of property owners and retail merchants, has taken an official stand against a smoking ban.
"It's about businesses' right to choose," said Donna Ogdon Chen, executive director of the group. "These businesses have come into Oak Park making a major investment. They have made business decisions according to the market. The idea of the government coming in and placing new restrictions on them that could potentially affect their competitiveness with surrounding communities just is not fair."
Chen said the issue isn't about health but free enterprise.
"If they are looking to make some strides regarding health, they need to take this Downstate or with the tobacco companies. They don't need to be taking this up with the rest of Oak Park," she said.
For many smokers gathered on a recent night at Poor Phil's Shell Bar in the Carleton of Oak Park Hotel, a smoking ban would simply send them to neighboring Forest Park.
"I wouldn't be coming out in Oak Park anymore--definitely not," said Laura Klosowski, 25, of Oak Park. "I enjoy a smoke with my cocktail, and I definitely won't give that up."
Poor Phil's night manager Peter Kryger said the bar would stand to lose many of its patrons, pointing out only one occupied table in the bar's designated non-smoking area and a bustling section for smokers.
"It would hurt business because your smokers are going to want to smoke, and they can walk right across the street [to Forest Park] to do so," Kryger said.
Ansell said now is the time for Oak Park to jump on the anti-smoking bandwagon.
"Oak Park has usually led the charge on things like this," he said. "Now we're not leading the charge, we're behind the pack."
http://www.chicagotribune.com
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