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SMOKE-FREE ILLINOIS ACT
To get the information you want, please click on the links below.
General Act Information
The State Act
Sample Approved No Smoking Sign
IDPH Rules for Compliance
Frequently Asked Questions
SMOKE-FREE ILLINOIS ACT – January 1, 2008
The new Smoke-Free Illinois Act goes into effect at midnight on January 1, 2008. This Act will protect employees and the public from second hand smoke. Smoking will be prohibited in nearly all indoor public places. This is a big change for much of the State of Illinois. The Act will have far less impact in the Village of Skokie, which passed a very similar ordinance in 2003. Most public places in Skokie have been smoke-free since that time. However, the state Act pre-empts the existing Skokie Ordinance and differs in some aspects. A few highlights of the state Act are listed below:
- Smoking is prohibited inside public places, workplaces, and outdoors within 15 feet of entrances, exits, windows, and ventilation intakes.
- Exemptions include: private homes not used as a business, 25% of permanently designated hotel rooms, “retail tobacco stores,” and certain private/semi-private long-term care facility rooms.
- The law will be enforced by local law enforcement and state-certified local health departments which includes the Skokie Health Department.
- Complaints may be reported to the Skokie Health Department (847-933-8252), Skokie Police Department (847-982-5900), a state toll-free number (866-973-4646), or to the Smoke-Free Illinois website (www.smoke-free.illinois.gov).
- Individuals and business owners may be fined for violations of the Act. Fines may increase with each violation.
The above list is not complete. Some of the above highlights are more specific in the State Act and the Illinois Department of Public Health has finalized rules clarifying compliance requirements. The full Act may be viewed by clicking here. The IDPH rules for compliance may be viewed by clicking here. Additionally, sample signage suitable for copying is available by clicking the link listed earlier on this page. A Frequently Asked Question section is also available by clicking here.
If you have further questions, you may contact the Skokie Health Department at 847-933-8252.
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Smoke-Free Illinois Act
Public Act 095-0017
SB0500 Enrolled
LRB095 04425 KBJ 24470 b
AN ACT concerning public health.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:
Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Smoke Free Illinois Act.
Section 5. Findings. The General Assembly finds that tobacco smoke is a harmful and dangerous carcinogen to human beings and a hazard to public health. Secondhand tobacco smoke causes at least 65,000 deaths each year from heart disease and lung cancer according to the National Cancer Institute. Secondhand tobacco smoke causes heart disease, stroke, cancer, sudden infant death syndrome, low-birth-weight in infants, asthma and exacerbation of asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia in children and adults. Secondhand tobacco smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the United States. Illinois workers exposed to secondhand tobacco smoke are at increased risk of premature death. An estimated 2,900 Illinois citizens die each year from exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.
The General Assembly also finds that the United States Surgeon General's 2006 report has determined that there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke; the scientific evidence that secondhand smoke causes serious diseases, including lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma, is massive and conclusive; separating smokers from nonsmokers, cleaning the air, and ventilating buildings cannot eliminate secondhand smoke exposure; smoke-free workplace policies are effective in reducing secondhand smoke exposure; and smoke-free workplace policies do not have an adverse economic impact on the hospitality industry.
The General Assembly also finds that the Environmental Protection Agency has determined that secondhand smoke cannot be reduced to safe levels in businesses by high rates of ventilation. Air cleaners, which are capable only of filtering the particulate matter and odors in smoke, do not eliminate the known toxins in secondhand smoke. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) bases its ventilation standards on totally smoke-free environments because it cannot determine a safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, which contains cancer-causing chemicals, and ASHRAE acknowledges that technology does not exist that can remove chemicals that cause cancer from the air. A June 30, 2005 ASHRAE position document on secondhand smoke concludes that, at present, the only means of eliminating health risks associated with indoor exposure is to eliminate all smoking activity indoors.
Section 10. Definitions. In this Act:
"Bar" means an establishment that is devoted to the serving of alcoholic beverages for consumption by guests on the premises and that derives no more than 10% of its gross revenue from the sale of food consumed on the premises. "Bar" includes, but is not limited to, taverns, nightclubs, cocktail lounges, adult entertainment facilities, and cabarets.
"Department" means the Department of Public Health.
"Employee" means a person who is employed by an employer in consideration for direct or indirect monetary wages or profits or a person who volunteers his or her services for a non-profit entity.
"Employer" means a person, business, partnership, association, or corporation, including a municipal corporation, trust, or non-profit entity, that employs the services of one or more individual persons.
"Enclosed area" means all space between a floor and a ceiling that is enclosed or partially enclosed with (i) solid walls or windows, exclusive of doorways, or (ii) solid walls with partitions and no windows, exclusive of doorways, that extend from the floor to the ceiling, including, without limitation, lobbies and corridors.
"Enclosed or partially enclosed sports arena" means any sports pavilion, stadium, gymnasium, health spa, boxing arena, swimming pool, roller rink, ice rink, bowling alley, or other similar place where members of the general public assemble to engage in physical exercise or participate in athletic competitions or recreational activities or to witness sports, cultural, recreational, or other events.
"Gaming equipment or supplies" means gaming equipment/supplies as defined in the Illinois Gaming Board Rules of the Illinois Administrative Code.
"Gaming facility" means an establishment utilized primarily for the purposes of gaming and where gaming equipment or supplies are operated for the purposes of accruing business revenue.
"Healthcare facility" means an office or institution providing care or treatment of diseases, whether physical, mental, or emotional, or other medical, physiological, or psychological conditions, including, but not limited to, hospitals, rehabilitation hospitals, weight control clinics, nursing homes, homes for the aging or chronically ill, laboratories, and offices of surgeons, chiropractors, physical therapists, physicians, dentists, and all specialists within these professions. "Healthcare facility" includes all waiting rooms, hallways, private rooms, semiprivate rooms, and wards within healthcare facilities.
"Place of employment" means any area under the control of a public or private employer that employees are required to enter, leave, or pass through during the course of employment, including, but not limited to entrances and exits to places of employment, including a minimum distance, as set forth in Section 70 of this Act, of 15 feet from entrances, exits, windows that open, and ventilation intakes that serve an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited; offices and work areas; restrooms; conference and classrooms; break rooms and cafeterias; and other common areas. A private residence or home-based business, unless used to provide licensed child care, foster care, adult care, or other similar social service care on the premises, is not a "place of employment".
"Private club" means a not-for-profit association that (1) has been in active and continuous existence for at least 3 years prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly, whether incorporated or not, (2) is the owner, lessee, or occupant of a building or portion thereof used exclusively for club purposes at all times, (3) is operated solely for a recreational, fraternal, social, patriotic, political, benevolent, or athletic purpose, but not for pecuniary gain, and (4) only sells alcoholic beverages incidental to its operation. For purposes of this definition, "private club" means an organization that is managed by a board of directors, executive committee, or similar body chosen by the members at an annual meeting, has established bylaws, a constitution, or both to govern its activities, and has been granted an exemption from the payment of federal income tax as a club under 26 U.S.C. 501.
"Private residence" means the part of a structure used as a dwelling, including, without limitation: a private home, townhouse, condominium, apartment, mobile home, vacation home, cabin, or cottage. For the purposes of this definition, a hotel, motel, inn, resort, lodge, bed and breakfast or other similar public accommodation, hospital, nursing home, or assisted living facility shall not be considered a private residence.
"Public place" means that portion of any building or vehicle used by and open to the public, regardless of whether the building or vehicle is owned in whole or in part by private persons or entities, the State of Illinois, or any other public entity and regardless of whether a fee is charged for admission, including a minimum distance, as set forth in Section 70 of this Act, of 15 feet from entrances, exits, windows that open, and ventilation intakes that serve an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited. A "public place" does not include a private residence unless the private residence is used to provide licensed child care, foster care, or other similar social service care on the premises. A "public place" includes, but is not limited to, hospitals, restaurants, retail stores, offices, commercial establishments, elevators, indoor theaters, libraries, museums, concert halls, public conveyances, educational facilities, nursing homes, auditoriums, enclosed or partially enclosed sports arenas, meeting rooms, schools, exhibition halls, convention facilities, polling places, private clubs, gaming facilities, all government owned vehicles and facilities, including buildings and vehicles owned, leased, or operated by the State or State subcontract, healthcare facilities or clinics, enclosed shopping centers, retail service establishments, financial institutions, educational facilities, ticket areas, public hearing facilities, public restrooms, waiting areas, lobbies, bars, taverns, bowling alleys, skating rinks, reception areas, and no less than 75% of the sleeping quarters within a hotel, motel, resort, inn, lodge, bed and breakfast, or other similar public accommodation that are rented to guests, but excludes private residences.
"Restaurant" means (i) an eating establishment, including, but not limited to, coffee shops, cafeterias, sandwich stands, and private and public school cafeterias, that gives or offers for sale food to the public, guests, or employees, and (ii) a kitchen or catering facility in which food is prepared on the premises for serving elsewhere. "Restaurant" includes a bar area within the restaurant.
"Retail tobacco store" means a retail establishment that derives more than 80% of its gross revenue from the sale of loose tobacco, plants, or herbs and cigars, cigarettes, pipes, and other smoking devices for burning tobacco and related smoking accessories and in which the sale of other products is merely incidental. "Retail tobacco store" does not include a tobacco department or section of a larger commercial establishment or any establishment with any type of liquor, food, or restaurant license.
"Smoke" or "smoking" means the carrying, smoking, burning, inhaling, or exhaling of any kind of lighted pipe, cigar, cigarette, hookah, weed, herbs, or any other lighted smoking equipment.
"State agency" has the meaning formerly ascribed to it in subsection (a) of Section 3 of the Illinois Purchasing Act (now repealed).
"Unit of local government" has the meaning ascribed to it in Section 1 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution of 1970.
Section 15. Smoking in public places, places of employment, and governmental vehicles prohibited. No person shall smoke in a public place or in any place of employment or within 15 feet of any entrance to a public place or place of employment. No person may smoke in any vehicle owned, leased, or operated by the State or a political subdivision of the State. Smoking is prohibited in indoor public places and workplaces unless specifically exempted by Section 35 of this Act.
Section 20. Posting of signs; removal of ashtrays.
(a) "No Smoking" signs or the international "No Smoking" symbol, consisting of a pictorial representation of a burning cigarette enclosed in a red circle with a red bar across it, shall be clearly and conspicuously posted in each public place and place of employment where smoking is prohibited by this Act by the owner, operator, manager, or other person in control of that place.
(b) Each public place and place of employment where smoking is prohibited by this Act shall have posted at every entrance a conspicuous sign clearly stating that smoking is prohibited.
(c) All ashtrays shall be removed from any area where smoking is prohibited by this Act by the owner, operator, manager, or other person having control of the area.
Section 25. Smoking prohibited in student dormitories. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, smoking is prohibited in any portion of the living quarters, including, but not limited to, sleeping rooms, dining areas, restrooms, laundry areas, lobbies, and hallways, of a building used in whole or in part as a student dormitory that is owned and operated or otherwise utilized by a public or private institution of higher education.
Section 30. Designation of other nonsmoking areas. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, any employer, owner, occupant, lessee, operator, manager, or other person in control of any public place or place of employment may designate a non-enclosed area of a public place or place of employment, including outdoor areas, as an area where smoking is also prohibited provided that such employer, owner, lessee or occupant shall conspicuously post signs prohibiting smoking in the manner described in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 20 of this Act.
Section 35. Exemptions. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, smoking is allowed in the following areas:
(1) Private residences or dwelling places, except when used as a child care, adult day care, or healthcare facility or any other home-based business open to the public.
(2) Retail tobacco stores as defined in Section 10 of this Act in operation prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly. The retail tobacco store shall annually file with the Department by January 31st an affidavit stating the percentage of its gross income during the prior calendar year that was derived from the sale of loose tobacco, plants, or herbs and cigars, cigarettes, pipes, or other smoking devices for smoking tobacco and related smoking accessories. Any retail tobacco store that begins operation after the effective date of this amendatory Act may only qualify for an exemption if located in a freestanding structure occupied solely by the business and smoke from the business does not migrate into an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited.
(3) Private and semi-private rooms in nursing homes and long-term care facilities that are occupied by one or more persons, all of whom are smokers and have requested in writing to be placed or to remain in a room where smoking is permitted and the smoke shall not infiltrate other areas of the nursing home.
(4) Hotel and motel sleeping rooms that are rented to guests and are designated as smoking rooms, provided that all smoking rooms on the same floor must be contiguous and smoke from these rooms must not infiltrate into nonsmoking rooms or other areas where smoking is prohibited. Not more than 25% of the rooms rented to guests in a hotel or motel may be designated as rooms where smoking is allowed. The status of rooms as smoking or nonsmoking may not be changed, except to permanently add additional nonsmoking rooms.
Section 40. Enforcement; complaints.
(a) The Department, State-certified local public health departments, and local law enforcement agencies shall enforce the provisions of this Act and may assess fines pursuant to Section 45 of this Act.
(b) Any person may register a complaint with the Department, a State-certified local public health department, or a local law enforcement agency for a violation of this Act. The Department shall establish a telephone number that a person may call to register a complaint under this subsection (b).
Section 45. Violations.
(a) A person, corporation, partnership, association or other entity who violates Section 15 of this Act shall be fined pursuant to this Section. Each day that a violation occurs is a separate violation.
(b) A person who smokes in an area where smoking is prohibited under Section 15 of this Act shall be fined in an amount that is not less than $100 and not more than $250. A person who owns, operates, or otherwise controls a public place or place of employment that violates Section 15 of this Act shall be fined (i) not less than $250 for the first violation, (ii) not less than $500 for the second violation within one year after the first violation, and (iii) not less than $2,500 for each additional violation within one year after the first violation.
(c) A fine imposed under this Section shall be allocated as follows:
(1) one-half of the fine shall be distributed to the Department; and
(2) one-half of the fine shall be distributed to the enforcing agency.
Section 50. Injunctions. The Department, a State-certified local public health department, local law enforcement agency, or any individual personally affected by repeated violations may institute, in a circuit court, an action to enjoin.
Section 55. Discrimination prohibited. No individual may be discriminated against in any manner because of the exercise of any rights afforded by this Act.
Section 60. Severability. If any provision, clause or paragraph of this Act shall be held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such validity shall not affect the other provisions of this Act.
Section 65. Home rule and other local regulation.
(a) Any home rule unit of local government, any non-home rule municipality, or any non-home rule county within the unincorporated territory of the county may regulate smoking in public places, but that regulation must be no less restrictive than this Act. This subsection (a) is a limitation on the concurrent exercise of home rule power under subsection (i) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois Constitution.
(b) In addition to any regulation authorized under subsection (a) or authorized under home rule powers, any home rule unit of local government, any non-home rule municipality, or any non-home rule county within the unincorporated territory of the county may regulate smoking in any enclosed indoor area used by the public or serving as a place of work if the area does not fall within the definition of a "public place" under this Act.
Section 70. Entrances, exits, windows, and ventilation intakes. Smoking is prohibited within a minimum distance of 15 feet from entrances, exits, windows that open, and ventilation intakes that serve an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited under this Act so as to ensure that tobacco smoke does not enter the area through entrances, exits, open windows, or other means.
Section 75. Rules. The Department shall adopt rules necessary for the administration of this Act.
Section 80. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding
Section 8.31 as follows: (30 ILCS 805/8.31 new)
Sec. 8.31. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by this amendatory Act of the 95th General Assembly.
(410 ILCS 80/Act rep.)
Section 90. The Illinois Clean Indoor Air Act is repealed.
INDEX
Statutes amended in order of appearance
New Act
30 ILCS 805/8.31 new
410 ILCS 80/Act rep.
Effective Date: 1/1/2008
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NO SMOKING
To file a complaint:
Skokie Health Dept: 847-933-8252
IDPH: 866-973-4646
TTY 800-547-0466 (hearing impaired use only)
www.smoke-free.illinois.gov
Smoke-Free Illinois Act 95-0017
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IDPH Rules for Compliance
The Illinois Department of Public Health’s rules for compliance have not yet been approved. When they are, they will be placed on this page.
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Smoke-Free Illinois Act
Frequently Asked Questions
For Businesses
What is the purpose of the Act?
- To protect the health of Illinois residents, workers, and visitors from the documented health effects of secondhand smoke exposure.
- Studies show that after smoke-free laws take effect, there is a significant reduction in asthma attacks, heart attacks, and cancer rates. In addition, employees report having less wheezing, excessive coughing, shortness of breath, and irritation of the eyes, nose, and throat.
How do I comply with the law?
- Beginning January 1, 2008, you may not allow smoking in any indoor space within your establishment, including break rooms, or within 15 feet from any door, windows that open, or intake vents.
- You may not permit smoke to drift/infiltrate into an indoor workplace or public place.
- Post non-smoking signs at each entrance.
- Remove all ashtrays from areas where smoking is prohibited.
- Inform all existing employees and all applicants for employment at the time of application that smoking is prohibited.
Do I still have to comply if I am a private club or banquet hall?
Can I create a designated smoking area inside my establishment?
- No. The only exemptions to the Smoke-Free Illinois Act are some tobacco retailers, some hotel rooms as long as they are designated smoking rooms on the same floor and smoke may not infiltrate into non-smoking rooms, and some private or semi-private nursing home rooms.
Can I create a smoking area on an outdoor patio?
- Yes, however, any outdoor smoking area must be at least 15 feet away from any doorways, windows, and intake vents. The area cannot be enclosed. If partially enclosed, the space may not trap smoke.
- Make sure to check with the Village of Skokie about local regulations as well.
Can I make my entire property smoke-free?
- Yes. Any person in control of a public place or place of employment may designate additional outdoor areas, such as outdoor patios or the entire grounds, as smoke-free.
What if a customer refuses to comply with the law?
- Staff must remind customers or other visitors of the law and should politely explain that they must step outside to smoke. Train your staff what to say to customers, for example: “The new smoke-free law prohibits smoking indoors. Thank you for your cooperation.” In most cases, when asked to stop smoking, a customer will do so. If necessary, use your normal protocol for removing a disruptive customer from your premises.
How do I enforce the 15 feet rule?
- The most important things are to train your staff about the new law and to post adequate signage before the effective date of the law.
What are the penalties?
- An owner or manager who allows smoking to continue in their establishment can be fined not less than $250 for the first violation, not less than $500 for the second violation, and not less than $2500 for the third violation in the same year of the first violation. Each day is a separate violation.
For residents
Am I allowed to smoke in my home?
- Yes. The law is designed to protect employees at businesses and does not prohibit you from smoking in your home or your car.
What are the penalties for individuals?
- Individuals who refuse to comply with the law may be fined not less than $100 and not more than $250.
How do I file a complaint?
- Call the Skokie Health Department at (847) 933-8252. Complaints also can be filed through Smoke-free.illinois.gov or call (866) 973-4646.
Where can I get more information?
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