# Smoking in bars & restaurants? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 7, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394 "2013-01-07T21:01:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/1 "2013-01-07T21:01:42Z")
I have a short trip to Chicago coming up, and I was wondering if Chicago has gone smoke-free in bars & restaurants. I’m too lazy to Google, apparently. The answer affects how many clothes I have to pack. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/2 "2013-01-07T21:24:56Z")
Yes, completely smoke free. All of Illinois, actually. The only exceptions I’m aware of are things like cigar parlors and smoke shops. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2013, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/3 "2013-01-07T22:55:31Z")
Thanks for the info - very much appreciated. But shame on you for indulging my laziness! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/4 "2013-01-10T13:47:00Z")
[Here ya go](http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Smoking+in+bars+in+chicago) 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Shadowfyre](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfyre/32/9972_2.png) [@Shadowfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shadowfyre)\ **Post date:** [January 10, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/5 "2013-01-10T19:31:16Z")
All of Chicago is pretty much smoke free in bars and restaurants. Despite the law in IL, I hear (never experienced first hand) that some bars along the Indiana border don’t enforce it so as not to drive customers over the border. I guess it only takes one patron to call the police or whatever (not really sure who they would call) but since they are fairly small bars in fairly small towns with mostly regulars and known customers, it doesn’t happen very often. The bar owner would rather pay the occasional fine rather than permanently drive his business away. But if you stay in Chicago, your clothes should not smell like cigarettes after a night out. That doesn’t mean they won’t stink, though. Some of the more popular bars get pretty rank with B.O. and stale beer. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/6 "2013-01-11T00:06:51Z")
> [@Shakes](#): > > [Here ya go](http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Smoking+in+bars+in+chicago) 😃 Perfect! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BwanaBob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bwanabob/32/2985_2.png) [@BwanaBob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BwanaBob)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/7 "2013-01-14T15:13:13Z")
People forget that for every customer who likes to drink and smoke simultaneously, there are many who would love to have a drink socially but do not because they hate being surrounded by smoke. I rarely went out to have a beer before the law changed in New York. I knew many people who felt the same. The bars in New York seem to do fine without the smokers puffing away. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/8 "2013-01-14T20:17:13Z")
> [@Shadowfyre](#): > > All of Chicago is pretty much smoke free in bars and restaurants. Despite the law in IL, I hear (never experienced first hand) that some bars along the Indiana border don’t enforce it so as not to drive customers over the border. I know of two bars that look the other way. You’re right that they are small and have a tight set of regulars. However, neither is near Indiana and one is in the city. I heard from some smoker friends that one of these bars charges a dollar to smoke which goes toward their “fine fund”. Marginally on-topic anecdote: My employer was fined for an indoor smoking infraction during a muni inspection a couple years ago. The evidence: some impropery disposed of butts had blown inside at an overhead dock door, possibly from before the ban was enacted. There was much eye rolling. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/9 "2013-01-16T18:38:04Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I know of two bars that look the other way. You’re right that they are small and have a tight set of regulars. However, neither is near Indiana and one is in the city. I heard from some smoker friends that one of these bars charges a dollar to smoke which goes toward their “fine fund”. I also know of a bar in the city that let’s you smoke (located near Halsted & Grand). They’re connected to organized crime and I have to believe that has something to do with their lax adherence to the smoking ban. ---
**Author:** ![Trom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@Trom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trom)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/smoking-in-bars-restaurants/646394/10 "2013-01-16T19:16:21Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > I also know of a bar in the city that let’s you smoke (located near Halsted & Grand). They’re connected to organized crime and I have to believe that has something to do with their lax adherence to the smoking ban. I’ve been there a few times and wondered if that had something to do with it. I haven’t worked up the courage to try one of their hard boiled eggs.