KFVS12 News & Weather Cape Girardeau, Carbondale, Poplar BluffMarion gets tough on businesses that allow smoking indoors

Marion gets tough on businesses that allow smoking indoors

By Carly O'Keefe - bio | email

MARION, IL (KFVS) - It's been nearly two years since Illinois banned smoking inside restaurants and bars, but with the economy on the rocks, all bar owners are looking to get an edge over the competition and some choose to break the law.

Lately Mollie's Bar manager Sammy Mankin says some of his customers have told him they're leaving his place for bars that let them smoke.

"They say we love Mollies, but we can't smoke here," Mankin said.

To allow smoking indoors is against Illinois law.  The fact that some bars in town are allowing it has left Mankin to feel that his competition has found an unfair advantage.

"They want to go where they can smoke and have a drink and socialize with their fiends," said Mankin.  "We cannot offer that here because we follow the law and adhere to it. So we suffer for it."

A major criticism of the smoking ban has always been that there's no way to enforce it.  The legislation put health departments in charge of cracking down on smoking, but offered no additional monetary support for the departments to hire anyone to investigate smoking inside establishments or write citations.  The ban largely left bar owners to police themselves.  Some like Mankin follow the rules, others do not.

"There's always someone who will bend the rules," said Marion Mayor Bob Butler.

For Butler, blowing off the smoking ban isn't a cloudy issue.

"It's actually very simple," Butler said. "It's a violation of state law.  If necessary I can take steps as the liquor control commissioner to suspend or revoke a liquor license for violating a state law."

Mankin just wants the chance to beat his competition the way he used to--on the basis of service and atmosphere, not on whether he's willing to bend the rules for his patrons.

"Either let everybody smoke, or cut everybody off. Level the playing field. Fair is fair," said Mankin.

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