From WBBM Newsradio 780 in Chicago:

“The City Council Health Committee on Wednesday put off a vote on an ordinance to ban smoking in restaurants and bars after representatives of the restaurant industry asked for more time to review proposed amendments to the law.

“The committee’s decision prompted boos from anti-smoking activists who crammed the City Council chambers expecting the ordinance to pass out of the committee, clearing the way for a vote by the full City Council Thursday.

“Illinois Restaurant Association President Colleen McShane asked the committee for more time to sit down with bar and restaurant owners to review amendments to the original “Clean Air Ordinance,” saying she had just received the revised proposals Tuesday night.

“One of the key changes would shrink the area outside restaurants where smoking was banned from 25 feet to 10 feet to allow for smoking in outdoor seating areas.

“A second amendment would allow owners to apply for a “temporary hardship exemption” to the ban if they can demonstrate that they lost more than 15 percent of gross receipts by complying with the ordinance.

“Health Committee Chairman Ald. Ed Smith (28th) said after the hearing that although he granted the Illinois Restaurant Association time to review changes, “In the final analysis, we are going to have a no-smoking ban in the city of Chicago.”

“I gave them the time and I expect them to come back by the 26th (of October) with something they have decided on. We are going to move with the ban, and if they’re with us, fine, if they’re not, we’ve got to move on,” Smith said.

“When asked by reporters whether Mayor Richard M. Daley had asked the committee to delay the vote, Smith said, “No, he didn’t.”

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“Eating and sleeping are the only activities that should be allowed to interrupt a man’s enjoyment of his cigar.”

Mark Twain