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According to Stephen Laker, president of the Illinois Association of
Public Health Administrators, there is proposed legislation in the
state Senate currently that addresses many of the technical flaws
within the enforcement section of the act. "We believe that the
proposed legislation improves a much-needed no-smoking regulation
for Illinois and will eliminate a majority of the legal challenges
and questions that currently exist concerning the enforcement of
Smoke Free Illinois," Laker said. However, with just a few days
remaining in November for the General Assembly to consider
legislation, the Illinois Association of Public Health
Administrators is concerned that the statutory improvements for
Smoke Free Illinois will not be debated.
Greg Chance, legislative chairman for the association, said:
"Senate members need to pass this legislation to eliminate confusion
across the state of Illinois regarding the interpretation of the
Smoke Free Illinois Act. Without these technical improvements to the
enforcement language within the current state law, local agencies
and state's attorneys will remain somewhat reluctant to seek
enforcement of the no-smoking regulations."
At this time, the Illinois Association of Public Health
Administrators is working with other public health advocacy groups
to encourage leadership within the state Senate to vote on the
proposed amendment to the Smoke Free Illinois Act during the
November veto session.
[Text from news release from the
Illinois Association of Public
Health Administrators; file received from
the
Logan County Department
of Public Health] |
