Nearly a year and a half after the statewide smoking ban went into effect, Washington bars appear to be abiding by the rules more so than some of its neighbors.
The Washington Times-Reporter recently investigated Christy’s Place, Gracie’s Chicago Style Grille, Katy T’s, and Parish’s Pub and did not find smokers in any of the bars.
“That shows we have good licensees who are willing to cooperate with police,” said Police Chief Jim Kuchenbecker. “I commend tavern and restaurant owners because they truly make an effort to work with us.”
That is not to say smoking inside Washington businesses has not happened since the law went into effect Jan. 1 of last year, but Kuchenbecker said problems with compliance have been minimal.
“On occasion, we have had people call up and say something, but we haven't written any tickets,” he said. “It really hasn't been that big of a problem.”
Though police have not issued any tickets to smokers or business owners during the past 17 months that the law has not allowed smoking in places of employment, Kuchenbecker said that does not indicate that police are not enforcing the law.
“We have never taken the position that we are the cigarette police, but we won’t turn our back on it if we see it,” he said. “Certainly, if we walk in somewhere and see it, we are obligated to do something.”
However, Kuchenbecker said the law is unclear and enforcement is a challenge.
“It's an unfunded mandate by the state,” he said. “I support the smoking ban, but I don't think they put a lot of thought into it in terms of enforcement. They just sort of dumped it on everybody.”
State Rep. Keith Sommer, R-Morton, said he has not discussed the smoking ban with local police chiefs but does not doubt that they have concerns about enforcement or clarity of the law.
“It probably is unclear,” he said. “ ... But I think they have the mindset that if nobody says anything, they aren’t going to go out and try to find problems.”
Sommers voted against the ban last year, though he is a non-smoker and admittedly does not like to be around smoke.
“I think there are two choices people should have,” he said. “First, the owner of the business should have the right to provide the business and the atmosphere they wish to provide, and second, people can choose whether or not to go to those places.”
Kuchenbecker said the Tazewell County Health Department, rather than the police department, is the primary enforcing body of the smoking ban.
Sara Sparkman, community relations manager at the health department, said 116 complaints have been filed since January 2008.
“Not all of them are bars. We kind of expected it to be more,” she said. “ ... We’ve had a couple fast-food restaurants. It’s kind of ran the gamut, just general shopping. Some are complaints too close to the door. The majority are smoking inside.”
As the system works now, when a person sees someone smoking where it is not allowed, he or she can call police or the health department, or file a complaint with the Illinois Department of Public Health at www.idph.state.il.us by clicking on the “Smoke-free Illinois” link.
The IDPH then distributes the information to county health departments.
The Tazewell County Health Department’s procedure is to send a notification of the complaint to the business. If there is another complaint, the health department sends a warning letter. On a third complaint, the health department visits the location.
“The fourth time, we ... send all the information to the local police department,” Sparkman said.
Like Kuchenbecker, Sparkman said the law can be difficult to enforce.
“It’s a mandate through the state,” she said. “We’re trying to work through what they give us. It’s frustrating at times.”
Sparkman said the Tazewell County Health Department is waiting for the state to create tickets for them, which they may hand out in the future. A first offense is $100 for an individual smoking and a second offense is $250. A business owner will pay $250 for the first incident and $500 for the second. A third offense, and additional ones, within one year, is $2,500 per offense.
“There are local health departments that go out and write tickets," she said. “Right now, we have not ventured into that.”
Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Melaney Arnold said three governmental bodies, the IDPH, local health departments and police, all have the authority to ticket non-compliers, though some choose not to do so.
“We can’t force anyone to enforce it,” Arnold said. “Everybody has staffing and resource issues.
“But people need to know that if they are found violating the law, they can be cited for it.”
Arnold said a recent change to the law made by Gov. Pat Quinn requires IDPH regional offices to host hearings when alleged smokers want to contest their citations. Anyone cited has 10 calendar days to claim he or she will contest the violation at an administrative hearing.
Administrative law judges then hear testimony and evidence from both the person cited and the enforcing agency before making a ruling, which can be appealed in circuit court.
There are six regional health department offices outside Chicago, each covering up to two dozen counties and forcing some who want to contest their tickets to travel a long way to do so. Central Illinois's regional office is in Peoria and covers 25 counties, including Tazewell County.
While creating more work for the regional offices, Arnold said the new amendments to the law should make it more enforceable.
“Right now, we feel as if the law as it is is reasonable and everything that needed to be clarified has been done,” she said.
Jeanette Kendall contributed to this report.
