Homer Glen village officials are considering stricter penalties on tobacco license holders who are found guilty of selling tobacco or vaping products to minors.
Mayor Christina Neitzke-Troike said she is requesting the Village Board take action to update its tobacco ordinance after receiving numerous complaints from parents that tobacco shops sold products to their children.
Neitzke-Troike said the existing code is a little confusing and needs to be reevaluated.
“I think there should be accountability to selling to minors,” she said. “If you are selling to someone under the age of 21, you shouldn’t get a slap on the wrist.”
Under Illinois law, people must be at least 21 to buy tobacco products, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes and vapes. In 2019, Illinois became the 7th state in the U.S. to raise the tobacco purchasing age from 18 to 21, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. At the time, the health department said about 4,800 Illinois teens become new daily smokers each year.
Trustee Curt Mason said he’s all in on stricter local ordinances to protect children.
“I’m pretty stern with it,” Mason said. “Right now it’s too loose. I’d like to see something a little more stringent. Hit them where it hurts.”
Mason said he believes it’s important to protect children from harmful substances and cited the village’s recent efforts to ban nitrous oxide and Kratom or synthetic Kratom product sales to minors.
The board must still set parameters of what fines it should impose, but officials, including Village Clerk Candice Bielski, deputy clerk Gina Marcotte and village attorney Mike Pasquinelli, created a first draft as a baseline for discussion.
As part of the proposal, the first violation of selling tobacco or alternative nicotine products to a minor would be a fine of between $1,000 to $2,500 and suspension of the tobacco license for not less than 14 consecutive days.
A second violation within a 12-month period would be a fine of between $2,500 and $5,000 and suspension of the tobacco license for at least 30 days, according to the rough draft. A third violation within a year would be a fine of at least $5,000 and revocation of the tobacco license.
Pasquinelli said the proposal is not set in stone and will require the board’s input before a vote takes place.
The violation is now between $500 and $1,000 and an administrative hearing officer may impose a fine and suspend a licensee for any period of up to 30 days.
The proposal would establish mandatory minimum penalties.
The first draft also says every employee engaged in the sale of tobacco products must complete an age-verification and tobacco compliance training program within the first 30 days of their hire and at least once every two years. Training records must be available for inspection.
Employees selling tobacco products need to verify the age of a buyer who appears under 40 years old.
Each day a violation continues is considered a separate offense.
The Will County sheriff’s office conducts compliance checks, or stings, by sending in someone under age 21 to buy tobacco products.
The board voted last year to ban tobacco and vape stores from nitrous oxide sales after village officials learned they were being used to get high. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cautioned that intentional misuse or inhalation of nitrous oxide can lead to serious health problems such as asphyxiation, blood clots, palpitations or paralysis.
Last year, the Homer Glen joined several other communities to prohibit Kratom or its synthetic version, which can act like an opioid at high doses.
Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
