Illinois smoking ban faces tough challenge

PEORIA, Ill., March 4 (UPI) -- Illinois' fledgling smoking ban faced a court challenge Tuesday that could result in it being voided.

Karla Carrington, who works behind the bar at a Spring Valley, Ill., tavern, was cited for allegedly allowing a patron to light up but contends that she shouldn't have been charged and that the law is unenforceable.

Specifically at issue is language in the Smoke-Free Illinois Act that seems to limit penalties only to the smokers and not bar or restaurant employees.

But Carrington's lawyer, Dan O'Day, told the Peoria (Ill.) Journal Star that the Illinois Legislature passed a flawed statute that should be thrown out entirely.

"I think what happened was they designed a statute that was more like a press release," he said. "They forgot to make it a law."

The Journal Star said that the act has a quirk in the severability clause that O'Day contends allows the entire law to be scrapped if just one of its provisions is struck down in court.