I was stunned by the report that smoking is still allowed on the Senate side of the Illinois state legislature (“Smokers rule; No-smoking laws apply to everyone in the state Capitol except for the people who made them: members of the Senate,” Page 1, Jan. 26). Are the senators in Illinois still living in the Dark Ages? For years we have known about the devastating effects of smoking on smokers and those living and working around them.
How can a few smokers in the Senate wield the power to prevent consideration of a bill to abolish smoking on their side of the Capitol?
Why has there not been an outcry by the citizens of Illinois to ban the smoking that continues in our beautiful Capitol? Consider the damage being done to the building, to the drapes and curtains, chandeliers and walls–and to the photographs, paintings and artifacts.
How can they in good conscience continue to expose their colleagues and constituents, and the Capitol building that belongs to all of us, to the proven health risks and damage of secondhand smoke?
It is time for those few who insist on having their own way to either give up their loathsome habit or be considerate enough to go outside for their smokes. Oh, and the next time a bill to ban smoking is allowed to be brought to the floor of the Senate for a vote, let’s see a list of how the senators voted.
