Hookah Bar Rerun

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I was not surprised in late October of 2010 when the Building Department received requests from two businesses to open Hookah Bars in our Village. After all, Mayor Wasowicz had been promoting the idea to the Board for over a month, enjoyed smoking Hookah, and had befriended the owner of a Hookah Bar in Hickory Hills. After finding out that Hickory Hills was forcing the owner to move out of his 95th Street location Mayor Wasowicz encouraged the owner to move the Hookah Bar to the Village of Justice (even though our Village’s smoking ordinance prohibits them).

Mayor Wasowicz talked to the People's Voice Party Board members about how great Hookah Bars would be for the Village, stating that he had visited a Hookah Bar in Bridgeview that was grossing $40,000 a month in business. He said that nearby sandwich shops and food establishments would benefit from Hookah Bar patron’s who wanted something to eat. He said the customers at the Hookah Bars were mostly doctors, attorneys and other professionals. He also said that the Hookah Bars had ventilation systems that cleared the air of the large amounts of second hand smoke.

At the Village Board Committee meeting held on November 3, 2010 the subject of the Hookah Bar business license applications was discussed. At the following Village Board meeting held on November 8, 2010 the Village attorney told the Board that the Village’s present smoking ordinance doesn’t allow Hookah Bars in the Village because the Village’s smoking ordinances contain a blanket prohibition against smoking in public places. There is currently no retail tobacco store exemption in the Village’s ordinance, therefore, smoking is not allowed in such establishments in the Village. The smoking ordinance would need to be changed to allow for the existence of Hookah Bars in the Village. The People's Voice Party Board members asked the Village attorney to investigate if the Village could limit the number of licenses available for use by that specific type of business in the Village.

At the next Committee Meeting held on November 17, 2010 the Village attorney told the Board that if the Smoking Ordinance was modified to allow Hookah Bars in the Village, the Village couldn’t limit the number of licenses issued. This deeply concerned the People's Voice Party Board members.

Before the Board and I would even consider changing the Smoking Ordinance to allow Hookah Bars to open in the Village as Chair of the Ordinances, Licenses and Public Printing Area of Oversight I needed to do my “homework.”

On behalf of the Board I checked into Mayor Wasowicz’s claim that a Hookah Bar in Bridgeview was grossing $40,000 a month. I was surprised to find that Bridgeview’s smoking ordinance doesn’t allow Hookah Bars in their Village and there are no Hookah Bars in Bridgeview. I also learned that the Imam at the Bridgeview Mosque Foundation doesn’t approve of them in the community.

I checked into the Mayor’s claim that Hookah Bars have ventilation systems that clear large amounts of the second hand smoke. According to research done by the E.P.A. secondhand smoke cannot be reduced to safe levels in businesses by high rates of ventilation and that air cleaners, which are only capable of filtering the particulate matter and odors in smoke, do not eliminate the known toxins in secondhand smoke.

The Peoples Voice Party Trustees talked to many residents around the Village to get their opinion. (They wanted to be sure that their decision represented the wishes of the residents of Justice.) In their many conversations with residents throughout the Village they didn’t find one resident that was in favor of changing the smoking ordinance to allow Hookah Bars.

Mayor Wasowicz stated that Hookah Bars restrict their marketing to adults. The People's Voice Party research found that Hookah Bars are marketed primarily to young people, particularly college age students (like students attending Morraine Valley College or Argo Community High School).

The People's Voice Party researched the health effects of smoking Hookah. Following is some of the information we found:

Richard D. Hurt, M.D., Mayo Clinic

Hookah smoking is not safer than cigarette smoking. Also known as narghile, shisha and goza, a hookah is a water pipe with a smoke chamber, a bowl, a pipe and a hose. Specially made tobacco is heated, and the smoke passes through water and is then drawn through a rubber hose to a mouthpiece. The tobacco is no less toxic in a hookah pipe, and the water in the hookah does not filter out the toxic ingredients in the tobacco smoke. Hookah smokers may actually inhale more tobacco smoke than cigarette smokers do because of the large volume of smoke they inhale in one smoking session, which can last as long as 60 minutes.
While research about hookah smoking is still emerging, evidence shows that it poses many dangers:
· Hookah smoke contains high levels of toxic compounds, including tar, carbon monoxide, heavy metals and cancer-causing chemicals (carcinogens). In fact, hookah smokers are exposed to more carbon monoxide and smoke than are cigarette smokers.
· As with cigarette smoking, hookah smoking is linked to lung and oral cancers, heart disease and other serious illnesses.
· Hookah smoking delivers about the same amount of nicotine as cigarette smoking does, possibly leading to tobacco dependence.
· Hookah smoke poses dangers associated with secondhand smoke.
· Hookah smoking by pregnant women can result in low birth weight babies.
· Hookah pipes used in hookah bars and cafes may not be cleaned properly, risking the spread of infectious diseases.
At the Board Meeting held on December 27, 2010 I read the following statement:

"I was appointed to the Board to represent the citizens of Justice. It is a great privilege.

I take my responsibility over Ordinances, Permits and Public Printing very seriously. That responsibility is to administer and uphold the ordinances that have been instituted by the Board from previous administrations. I do not believe my job is to change or modify ordinances just because a few people want them changed.

This original smoking ordinance was approved on February 26, 2007 by the Trustees in office at the time and represents an ordinance that our citizens wanted in place. In the background of the ordinance, some of the citizens’ major concerns were: a.) Secondhand smoke, which contains 4,000 chemicals, 63 of which cause cancer, is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States. b.) The E.P.A. has determined that secondhand smoke cannot be reduced to safe levels in businesses by high rates of ventilation and that air cleaners, which are only capable of filtering the particulate matter and odors in smoke, do not eliminate the known toxins in secondhand smoke. c) A significant amount of secondhand smoke occurs in the workplace, and employees who work in smoke filled businesses suffer 25% to 50% high risk of heart attack and high rates of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well as increased acute respiratory disease and a measurable decrease in lung function.

I have spoken to each Trustee individually and found that there has been no public pressure from the citizens of Justice to modify the existing smoking ordinance. The other Trustees and I have spoken to many of our constituents over the past several weeks and not one of them approve of us modifying the existing smoking ordinance.

None of the individuals up here can change this ordinance on his or her own. We have representative government and our job is to represent the Citizens of Justice. We should not govern against the will of the people we represent.

Since it is my job to represent the Citizens of Justice I cannot support the modification of the smoking ordinance at this time."

On December 27, 2010, after careful consideration of many factors including the wishes of our Village residents, the health effects of smoking Hookah, the effects of second hand Hookah smoke on employees and the economic effect on the Village, the Board voted to table changing the smoking ordinance. Hookah Bars would not be allowed to open in the Village.

Now we fast forward to April 5, 2011. Several Coalition Party Trustees (Edward Rusch, Jr., Sue Small, Rick Symonds and Richard Sparr) were elected. On June 27, 2011 Mayor Wasowicz appointed his friend, Melanie Kuban to the Board (to fill the seat vacated by the resignation of Phil DePaola).

In early August 2011 the Building Department received a request from a business to open a Hookah Bar at 79th Street and 85th Avenue (which just happens to be the same location as the former Coalition Party Headquarters). In order to open this Hookah Bar the Smoking Ordinance would need to be changed.

At the August 8, 2011 Village Board meeting Trustee Ed Rusch made the following motion:

Trustee Rusch asked the village attorney about the proposed amendment to the smoking regulations. Attorney Castellino explained that zoning changes would not be required. Illinois State law allows for smoking in retail tobacco stores that derive more than 80% of revenue from the sale of tobacco. Further, the State legislates that there can be no food or alcohol sold on the premises. The village can restrict further to require minimum square footage, free-standing buildings, and licensure of retail tobacco businesses including setting a maximum number of licenses.

MOTION: Trustee Rusch Moves: To direct the Village Attorney to draft amendments to the Village Code concerning smoking and licensure of retail tobacco stores for review and consideration by the Village Board.

SECOND: Trustee Symonds
Trustee Symonds asked if we leave the ordinance as it is would there be any liability for not allowing such a business.
Attorney Castellino replied that it would not create a liability because our code can be more restrictive than that of the State.
Trustee Sparr asked if we could require that smoking be allowed only in a private club.
Attorney Castellino said he would have to check to see if that is one of the exceptions to the ban allowed by state code.

VOTE: Trustees Small, Sparr and Kuban voted aye. Trustees Bartoszek, Symonds and Rusch voted, nay. Mayor Wasowicz voted aye. Motion carried.

Mayor Wasowicz voted yes to break the tie and the motion was approved.

At the Committee meeting on September 7, 2011 the Board discussed approving the modified smoking ordinance which will allow Hookah Bars to be opened in the Village of Justice. Mayor Wasowicz is promoting it once again and the Coalition Board members have a major decision to make. I hope the Board does not take this decision lightly and that they have done their homework as the previous Board did. I believe that before the decision is made to change the smoking ordinance the Mayor and the Board should publicize and hold special Town Hall style meetings where the residents of the Village can voice their opinions and concerns about allowing Hookah Bars to open in the Village.

This issue will be discussed and a presentation will be made by the Hookah Bar owner at the Committee meeting on September 21, 2011. I hope that the village residents are paying attention and will attend the Committee meeting on September 21st at 7 pm at the Village Hall in large numbers to let their representatives know what they think about such an important issue.

Perspective of John Koslowski
Over 22 year resident
Former Trustee, Village of Justice