Our State Government Sucks

I have been waiting to see if any other Illinois blogger would comment on the recently signed legislation that makes it illegal to smoke.

Honestly, I am absolutely speechless over this.

Well, not quite. It seems that they went out of their way to include service clubs like the VFW and American Legion:

"Private club" means a not-for-profit association that (1)
has been in active and continuous existence for at least 3
years prior to the effective date of this amendatory Act of the
95th General Assembly, whether incorporated or not, (2) is the
owner, lessee, or occupant of a building or portion thereof
used exclusively for club purposes at all times, (3) is
operated solely for a recreational, fraternal, social,
patriotic, political, benevolent, or athletic purpose, but not
for pecuniary gain, and (4) only sells alcoholic beverages
incidental to its operation. For purposes of this definition,
"private club" means an organization that is managed by a board
of directors, executive committee, or similar body chosen by
the members at an annual meeting, has established bylaws, a
constitution, or both to govern its activities, and has been
granted an exemption from the payment of federal income tax as
a club under 26 U.S.C. 501.

And then:

A "public
place" includes, but is not limited to, hospitals, restaurants,
retail stores, offices, commercial establishments, elevators,
indoor theaters, libraries, museums, concert halls, public
conveyances, educational facilities, nursing homes,
auditoriums, enclosed or partially enclosed sports arenas,
meeting rooms, schools, exhibition halls, convention
facilities, polling places, private clubs, gaming facilities,
all government owned vehicles and facilities…

I make no secret that I am a smoker. I wish I wasn’t, but there it is. That said, it’s stupid enough that the ban includes bars. That is going to kill businesses. The government has put a hurt on these establishments already (at least in my neck of the woods) with stricter enforcement of DUI laws. Three bars in my little town have closed in the last few years because the police just wait outside until closing time. This could put the nail in the coffin, so to speak.

But targeting the service clubs? The very folks that fight for freedom get NO say about what they do on property they have paid for? We can’t be trusted to decide amongst ourselves whether we will allow smoking in a private facility??
We own this place. We have paid for it and CONTINUE to pay for it. Not anyone can walk in to our Post; in fact, if you don’t know the door code, you’re not getting in at all.

Good Lord, what next? Is the government going to take the salt shaker off my table because it’s unhealthy?

I’d really like to hear from Tammi and Contagion about this.