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TechnographChampaign City Council votes down smoking ban
By Eric Chima
Posted: 9/15/05 Section: News
The Champaign City Council voted five to four against a proposal that would have banned smoking in all public indoor places in the city Tuesday.
There is now little chance of the smoke-free issue passing until at least 2007, when four council seats and the mayor's office are up for re-election, Councilwoman Kathy Ennen, member-at-large, said.
"It's dead as far as this council goes," Ennen said.
The council agenda originally called for a poll on a proposal that only would have banned smoking in restaurants without a class A liquor license, which would have excluded many bars and some restaurants from the ban.
Several council members, led by Ennen and 4th District Councilwoman Marci Dodds, called the proposal arbitrary and unfair.
"I don't have a problem banning it altogether," Dodds said. "I do have a problem with this weird, shifting middle-ground."
With the partial ban looking unlikely, Councilman Tom Bruno, member-at-large, asked for a vote on a total ban. When that failed, Mayor Gerald Schweighart called for a vote to leave the regulations unchanged. That proposal passed five to four, with 5th District Councilman Ken Pirok, member-at-large Councilman Giraldo Rosales, 1st District Councilwoman Gina Jackson, and Bruno dissenting.
Ennen and Dodds voted for both proposals. Pirok and Jackson voted against both.
Jackson, an Army veteran, said she supported a smoking ban but could not vote for the total ban because she did not support making the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars clubs smoke-free.
The decision came in a council chamber packed with what 3rd District Councilman Vic McIntosh called the biggest crowd he has seen since he joined the council. Many people, most sporting stickers saying "Everyone deserves smoke-free air," or "Choose free enterprise," were forced to stand or sit on the floor as the seats quickly filled.
Before the council even began to debate, 40 people came forward to speak to the council on both sides of the issue.
There is now little chance of the smoke-free issue passing until at least 2007, when four council seats and the mayor's office are up for re-election, Councilwoman Kathy Ennen, member-at-large, said.
"It's dead as far as this council goes," Ennen said.
The council agenda originally called for a poll on a proposal that only would have banned smoking in restaurants without a class A liquor license, which would have excluded many bars and some restaurants from the ban.
Several council members, led by Ennen and 4th District Councilwoman Marci Dodds, called the proposal arbitrary and unfair.
"I don't have a problem banning it altogether," Dodds said. "I do have a problem with this weird, shifting middle-ground."
With the partial ban looking unlikely, Councilman Tom Bruno, member-at-large, asked for a vote on a total ban. When that failed, Mayor Gerald Schweighart called for a vote to leave the regulations unchanged. That proposal passed five to four, with 5th District Councilman Ken Pirok, member-at-large Councilman Giraldo Rosales, 1st District Councilwoman Gina Jackson, and Bruno dissenting.
Ennen and Dodds voted for both proposals. Pirok and Jackson voted against both.
Jackson, an Army veteran, said she supported a smoking ban but could not vote for the total ban because she did not support making the American Legion or Veterans of Foreign Wars clubs smoke-free.
The decision came in a council chamber packed with what 3rd District Councilman Vic McIntosh called the biggest crowd he has seen since he joined the council. Many people, most sporting stickers saying "Everyone deserves smoke-free air," or "Choose free enterprise," were forced to stand or sit on the floor as the seats quickly filled.
Before the council even began to debate, 40 people came forward to speak to the council on both sides of the issue.
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