Smoking Ban on Illinois College Campuses To Go Into Effect

An anti-smoking bill signed into law by former Gov. Pat Quinn is about to change where people light up on state-supported college campuses. In short, nowhere.

Starting Wednesday, smoking on all state-supported college and university campuses in Illinois will be prohibited. There will be no designated smoking areas. However, on some campuses students, faculty, and visitors will be able to light up in private vehicles parked on or traveling through campus.

Last year Riley & I opined on the wisdom of opening up a series of "smoking buses" on college campuses across the state. Pay your fare, get where you need to go, and enjoy a cigarette on the way. Sadly, our venture capital funding didn't come through.

Here's how the SIU campus in Carbondale is prepping for the change:

To help speed up the process, SIU is hanging signs around campus and providing a grace period to spread the word. SIU will not fine those caught smoking on campus, but will give warnings to students and staff. Repeat offenders could ultimately be banned from campus.

Meanwhile, in DeKalb, NIU president Doug Baker has penned a letter outlining exactly what it means for Huskies:

Beginning July 1, smoking is prohibited in all areas of campus. This includes all indoor and outdoor areas owned and leased by the university, including but not limited to all buildings and facilities on the main campus and other satellite locations, open spaces, stadiums and parking lots, with the exception of inside private vehicles passing through campus. The prohibition includes using and/or carrying any kind of lighted smoking materials. Examples include any kind of pipe, cigar, cigarette, cigarillo, bidi, kretek, hookah, atomizer, vaporizer, marijuana, weed, herb and electronic cigarette.At this time, smoking in a personal vehicle parked in an open-air parking lot on campus is not considered a violation of the policy.

Starting July 1, 2016, the University of Illinois Springfield will take an additional step and no longer permit smoking in vehicles on its campus.