Clearing the Air on the IL Smoke-Free Law...

An article posted today reports that the Illinois Appellate Court reversed the conviction of someone who violated the Smoke-free Illinois Act. However, the article fails to mention that this is one of the issues that was corrected in a subsequent law which addressed procedural questions raised by original smoke-free statute. We hope that this “old news” does not cause confusion or encourage people to ignore the law.

The bottom line: This decision is based on an outdated legal case. The law has already been changed to address the issue raised by the appellate court. The Smoke-free Illinois Act is still the law of the land and should be followed and enforced accordingly.

Here is the article posted today from the Sun-Times Media Wire:

Joliet smoking conviction reversed by higher court

JOLIET, Ill. (STNG) -- Late last year, a Will County jury found a southwest suburban Joliet woman guilty of violating the state's smoking ban.

Now a higher court has reversed that decision.

Daniel O'Day, the Peoria lawyer who has represented several local residents and others around the state who have been charged with violating the 2008 law, heard the news Tuesday morning. And he certainly was pleased.

"For a year and a half or more, smokers in Illinois were terrorized by threats of arrest for misdemeanors or petty offenses," O'Day said Tuesday afternoon. "That turned out to be bogus, according to the Illinois Appellate Court."

His client is Kathleen Kane, 56, of 702 Ingalls Ave. in Joliet.

One day in March 2008, she was at Woody's at 1008 W. Washington St. in Joliet. At the time, Kane worked tending bar there, but she wasn't on the clock when the arrest happened, O'Day said. A Joliet police officer and a representative from the Will County Health Department stopped at the bar and ticketed Kane and others for smoking inside the building, O'Day said.

After Kane was convicted, O'Day filed an appeal.

The higher court ruled Monday that Kane's case should have been handled administratively, not as a criminal matter in the court system.

The fine and court costs totaling $231 will be refunded, O'Day said.

With local co-counsel Ted Hammel, the Peoria lawyer has several similar cases pending in Will County. They'll be in court Dec. 16, he said.

"Now they will have to be dismissed," O'Day predicted.