Bars, police at border report few problems

Steve Palm smokes outside Bullwinkle’s in Algonquin. It has been a year since the statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants went into effect. (Sandy Bressner – sbressner@nwherald.com)

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A less than five-minute drive from the Wisconsin border, the owner of Doyle’s Pub in Richmond says business is down a year after the statewide smoking ban went into effect.

“My bar is down 40 percent,” Jeanne Doyle said. “It hurts.”

Some bars and restaurants are reporting that the ban has affected sales.

When smoking was allowed, Doyle said, she would have 20 to 30 factory workers stop by frequently at the end of their day.

“Now they just skip right over the border,” she said. “When they get off work, they want to have a smoke and a beer.”

Doyle admits that she likes not having the cigarette smoke smell. She said that if the ban were reversed, she would continue to not allow patrons to light up when the kitchen is open.

“Once the kitchen is closed and the kids are gone, it’s a bar,” she said. “They took the smoker’s right to choose away.”

Chief Tom Sanders said the Spring Grove Police Department had not issued any smoking violations. He said bar and restaurant owners, who can be fined if someone smokes, had been doing well in enforcing the law themselves.

“On occasion, we get a call saying somebody is near a door smoking, and when we get there, they’re gone,” Sanders said.

Most people have adjusted by now, he said.

“What you do see is, because we’re on the border, people from Wisconsin come in and try to light up,” Sanders said. “It’s kind of a habit thing, and they’ll step outside or say, ‘Geez, I forgot.’ ”

Other police departments in northern McHenry County towns close to the border, Johnsburg and Richmond, also reported having few issues with enforcing the ban.

David Meloney, a manager at Tommy’s Sports Bar in Spring Grove, said customers had been very respectful about taking it outside.

“We don’t have cigarettes on the floor, and they don’t smoke in the bathroom,” he said. “I’ve seen them take their cigarettes out of their pocket, put it in their mouth, and then take it outside and light it.”

Several servers and customers have mentioned that they quit smoking after the ban started, Meloney said. But there still are those who grab their jacket to battle the elements.

“I can’t believe they do it in this very cold weather we’ve been having,” Meloney said. “I’m not a smoker, but it must be a very powerful habit.”