Evanston’s Human Services Committee voted unanimously Monday to ban smoking in all Evanston workplaces except for bars and restaurants. The motion could go before Evanston City Council at its April 26 meeting.
The plan also called for the city to lobby for a possible statewide smoking ban as well as ask the City of Chicago to ban smoking in bars and restaurants.
The approved motion, proposed by Ald. Gene Feldman (9th), came after the committee voted down a suggestion from Ald. Elizabeth Tisdahl (7th) that called for a smoking ban in all restaurants except for bar-restaurant facilities such as Pete Miller’s Steakhouse, 1557 Sherman Ave.
Several alderman said they were particularly concerned with the economic impact a smoking ban would have on local bars and restaurants.
Ald. Arthur Newman (1st) called Evanston’s restaurants the city’s “cottage industry.”
“We have a cutting-edge industry in Evanston and we’re going to speculate?” Newman asked. “And that’s what it is. I would love to have a smoke-free Evanston, but I don’t want to experiment with our tax base.”
Aldermen on the committee said they also worried that the ban would force patrons to seek out establishments in surrounding communities where smoking is allowed, thereby decreasing the amount of tax revenue for Evanston. Unlike other businesses, bars and restaurants contribute with three types of taxes: liquor, real estate and sales. This decrease in tax revenue could hurt funding for social services, some aldermen said.
“In order for us to provide service, we’ve got to be competitive,” Newman said.
Aldermen resisted comparisons to Skokie and Wilmette — two communities that recently passed bans on smoking.
Newman said Evanston doesn’t have the same tax base as Skokie because of the Old Orchard Shopping Center and cannot afford the potential economic consequences.
“We’re broke compared to Skokie,” he said.
To avoid putting Evanston restaurants at a disadvantage, the committee said it would make a committed effort to push for a statewide smoking ban. Aldermen said this might mean lobbying the state legislature or even going to the state capital every year.
Several aldermen said that if residents took issue with the committee’s decision, they could effect change themselves by boycotting establishments where smoking is still allowed.
“If the community rises up and refuses to go to restaurants where there’s smoke, then (the bars and restaurants will) have to adjust that,” Newman said.
Supporters of a ban on smoking in bars and restaurants said they were frustrated with the committee’s decision.
“We’re disappointed because people will continue to be harmed by the decision tonight and people will continue to die from secondhand smoke because of the council’s decision,” said Catherine Counard, a physician involved with advocacy group Evanston Citizens For Clean Indoor Air.
Donovan Pepper of the Illinois Restaurant Association, however, said he felt the committee made the right choice.
“The impact of the competitive disadvantage Evanston bars and restaurants would’ve been placed at is significant,” Pepper said. “This is a clear economic and business vitality issue.”
But Counard said she hopes to bring up another proposal to ban smoking in bars and restaurants within the next year.
“It’s just round one,” Counard said. “We’ll be back. We will definitely be back.”
