VILLA GROVE – Mayor Ron Hunt has been smoking two packs of cigarettes a day for 60 years, and he says he hates the new law prohibiting smoking in public places.

That's why Hunt is calling on the Villa Grove City Council to pass a similar ordinance.

Hunt said he is outraged by the state law that goes into effect on Jan. 1.

"If government wants to tell people they can't smoke in a government building, that's fine," Hunt said. "But if I own a business uptown, I don't think the government should tell me how to run my business because I'm the one paying the mortgage.

"It's the business owner's choice whether to make his or her business smoking optional. It is my choice as a smoker to choose whether to go there or not."

Hunt said it infuriates him to think that money from smoking violation fines will go to the state.

So he wants the city council to establish an ordinance making the same requirements the General Assembly has established.

"What I'm going to do is to create a city no-smoking ordinance, and then smoking would become an ordinance violation," Hunt said. "We can write any ordinance we wish as long as it is the same as or more stringent than state law."

Once the city ordinance is in place, Hunt said he will instruct Villa Grove police officers to issue city citations rather than state citations.

"And then I'll collect all the money," Hunt said. "I'm not going to give one penny of our money here in Villa Grove to that governor in Springfield."

Meanwhile, one of the places going smoke-free Jan. 1 is the Villa Grove City Hall.

Hunt said he'll miss having a smoke at the city hall. He said he is working on establishing a location outside the building for persons working in the facility to smoke.

A LOOK AT THE LAW

After Tuesday, you cannot smoke in:

– Restaurants, bars, taverns and gaming facilities;

– Public buildings and offices, elevators, restrooms and theaters;

– Commercial establishments and enclosed shopping centers;

– Government-owned vehicles and vehicles open to the public; or

– Sports arenas, skating rinks, polling places and private clubs.

Smokers can partake in outdoor public parks as long as they're 15 feet away from any entrance, exit or ventilation system, said Illinois Department of Public Health spokeswoman Kimberly Parker.

The new laws aren't a smoking ban, Parker said, but a legal definition about where smoking can take place.

"It's not telling people they can't smoke," Parker said. "This is a public health issue."

Shayne Squires of the American Cancer Society said the new laws aren't an attempt to quell freedoms, but to prevent health maladies that accompany secondhand smoke.

"This is all about saving lives," Squires said.

Even nonsmokers working in a smoky environment have a higher risk of lung cancer, she said, and new Illinois laws are designed to protect them.

"By eliminating the secondhand smoke in public places, we're going to save lives and reduce suffering," Squires said.

Though she knows some residents aren't happy with the new law, she believes it's for the best.

"What we've seen in other states is they've had good results," Squires said. "You know, Illinois is not the first state to pass a smoke-free law."