Monday night the DeKalb City Council passed a smoking ban, but the ban will not apply to NIU property.

Students will be free to smoke in public and within 10 feet of doorways when the ban takes effect.

DeKalb has no authority over actions that take place on property owned by the state of Illinois such as NIU’s campus, said DeKalb City Attorney Norma Guess.

Though the smoking ban does not affect NIU’s campus, many students will be affected by the ban as residents of DeKalb.

“[The aldermen] have given this very thorough consideration,” Guess said. “I would say the student interests were well represented.”

Alderman James Barr of DeKalb’s seventh ward was one of the council members who voted against the ban.

The seventh ward includes Grant and Stevenson residence halls as well as all of the apartments west of Annie Glidden Road and north of the residence halls.

Barr attended student residence hall meetings where the smoking ban was discussed and took under consideration the opinions he heard there, he said.

During the city council meeting, Barr voiced concerns the smoking ban changes the definition of “public place” and that “a good percentage of his constituents” felt bars should be excluded from the ban, according to DeKalb City Council meeting minutes.

Barr is concerned businesses in DeKalb, particularly those with Class E licenses, may be affected by the ban. Studies have already dealt with the effect of smoking bans that have only focused on large cities, said Barr.

“None of the studies I’ve seen were on the level of a mid-to-small size town,” Barr said. “It is difficult to determine whether or not individual businesses are going to be affected.”

Correction: In Wednesday’s Northern Star article, “NIU campus exempt from smoking ban,” the following places were not included in a box on Class A license bars exempt from the city-wide smoking ban until Sept. 1, 2007: Otto’s, Starbuster’s Bar and Grill and Twin Tavern.