Smoke ban affects clubs

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Members of private clubs such as the Moose Lodge and American Legion are reacting with anger, confusion and even resignation as they realize that their hangouts will fall under the scope of a new statewide smoking ban.

Last week, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed into law the Smoke Free Illinois Act, which prohibits smoking in all public places beginning Jan. 1, 2008.

The bill specifically includes private clubs as public places. Many local organizations that allow indoor smoking will be affected.

Tom Higgins, a member of Moose Lodge Batavia Overseas Post 1197, and other club members thought that a private club had the right to choose whether to ban smoking. Members chose to pay dues to belong to the establishment in the first place, Higgins reasoned.

“If you know there’s smoke there, don’t belong [to the club],” Higgins said.

Pat Green, post commander for Tri City Evergreen Post 2298 in West Dundee, originally wasn’t sure that the ban would extend to his post.

But his first reaction after learning of the all-encompassing ban was one of civic duty.

“Then we will abide by it,” he said. “Law is law.”

Green is an occasional cigar smoker, but says he will give them up when the law takes effect. He believes the ban might have an initial impact on post activities, but that things would eventually sort themselves out.

“Some have complained that if there’s no smoking, they’ll go elsewhere, but where’s elsewhere? There is no elsewhere,” he said. “There’s no other clubs – they can’t open private clubs for smokers. If [the ban] affects them all, there’s no place to go.”

Green has first-hand experience of how a smoking ban can affect a club.

Post 2298 frequents the St. Monica’s Bingo Hall in Carpentersville, which was originally a smoking establishment.

“Many years ago we cut smoking out and the hall still fills,” Green said proudly. “People still wanted to go. If there’s no place else for them to go, people will still go back to their old haunts.”

Frank Prosser, the membership and public relations director for the American Legion state headquarters, had similar sentiments. Although the department level does not have an official position on the issue, he doesn’t think the ban will play a big role in local legion attendance.

“People enjoy coming to the legion just like they do going to a restaurant,” he said. “I don’t feel like there’s going to be any impact, personally. If local posts have a problem with it, we are trusting them to contact their local senators and congressmen to voice their opinions.”

Back with the Moose in Batavia, Higgins said the ban was counterproductive to the cigarette tax the state was discussing.

“Why do you raise a cigarette tax and then ban the whole thing?” he asked. “It’s like shooting yourself in the foot.”

Green had a slightly different opinion.

“It’s too bad they didn’t ban cigarettes,” Green said. “If they banned cigarettes, no one could smoke at all and there wouldn’t be any arguments.”

Most members feel there isn’t much they can do beside sit and wait for Jan. 1 to roll around.

“It’s going to affect a lot of people,” member Bruce Emmerling said. “[But] we haven’t figured it out yet. We’ll have to wait to see what happens.”