Smoking ban exemption bills on hold
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Several bills to broaden exemptions to the state's indoor smoking ban were put on hold for at least a week.</font>
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">A House committee was scheduled to hear the bills Wednesday, but Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, asked the bill sponsors to hold them.</font>
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Rep. Randy Ramey Jr. said he was told the speaker wants to remove an exemption for riverboat casinos from a bill Ramey is sponsoring.</font>
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">The Carol Stream Republican wants to give specific businesses the option of buying special licenses that will allow their patrons to smoke inside. In addition to casinos, Ramey wants to let private clubs, adult entertainment venues and bars that do less than 10 percent of their business in food sales buy such licenses.</font>
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Riverboat casinos are pushing for an exemption to the indoor smoking ban. The Illinois Casino Gaming Association believes that a downturn in gambling revenues in January was at least partly due to the smoking ban.</font>
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt">
<p class="BODY" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt"><font face="Imperial">Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville, became angry when he was told he could not call his exemption bill for a vote in the committee. Black wants to allow private clubs to be exempt if three-fifths of their members agree to allow smoking.</font>