A string of ordinances banning smoking in bars and restaurants has been sweeping both Illinois and the nation.

Many places from New York to Skokie have passed these ordinances, and DeKalb soon may jump on the bandwagon.

Second Ward Alderman Kris Povlsen is the sponsor of the volunteer Citizens Environmental Commission (CEC), the organization behind the recent local movement.

“More and more information is coming out about second-hand smoke and how it affects people’s health,” he said.

Povlsen also said this is not a new movement, and in some places, entire states have passed ordinances banning smoking in most public places.

“I think it’s infringing on the rights of the patrons,” said Ron Enstrom, owner of Molly’s Kitchen, 1022 W. Lincoln Highway.

Enstrom said he has never had a complaint about the smoking inside the bar from customers or employees.

“We haven’t drafted anything yet,” Povlsen said, “but we’d be looking at a ban in smoking within bars and restaurants.”

Bar owners seem to think an all-out ban is going too far.

“I could maybe see requiring an air-filtration system or something like that,” Enstrom said.

Molly’s is working on having a system installed, he said.

John Ham, manager at The Barn, 1215 Blackhawk Road, compared DeKalb’s situation to the one downstate.

“There are a lot of Southern Illinois bars that have a no-smoking policy and it hasn’t affected them too much, but a lot more people smoke around here,” Ham said.

Ham also said he was concerned about business in winter, where smokers would be forced to go outside to smoke, and therefore may be less likely to visit bars and restaurants.

Junior industrial engineering major Dan Bailey weighed in on the debate.

“I certainly wouldn’t mind [a ban], since it’s really irritating indoors for me, but I don’t smoke to start with,” Bailey said. “It’s really a case of: Are there more smokers or non-smokers going to these places? The majority is going to be happy, the rest aren’t.”

Many politicians nationwide are pressing for similar policies, and pro-tobacco organizations are launching campaigns against the bans.

“You can never know the whims of politicians and the backlash of self-interest groups,” Povlsen said.

He also said 80 percent of people don’t smoke, so he would guess that most people would support a ban.

Povlsen said the proposal is still in its planning stages, but he expects it to be ready toward the beginning of 2004.

“I think we’re progressing slowly but deliberately,” he said.

Povlsen also said he wants to allow the public enough time to get used to the idea.