VALPARAISO | It's not an April Fool's joke. As of today, smoking in the workplace is banned in Valparaiso.

The smoking ban was approved by the council in December. Exceptions are allowed for bars and private clubs, tobacco shops, outdoor places of employment (except outdoor dining areas for restaurants), hotels and motels (in 30 percent of the rooms) and family owned and operated businesses where all the employees are related and the business is not open to the public.

Each has to file for an exemption, which costs $50. Exemptions had been filed on behalf of 17 locations by Friday, including a smoke shop, the Eagles, the VFW, the American Legion and several bars. A restaurant that wants to allow smoking can do so by declaring itself a bar, but it would not be allowed to admit children. Bars that want to offer family dining can't allow smoking.

Chicago and Cook County have both adopted smoking bans, and the Illinois Senate passed one last week that would extend it to the entire state if passed by the House. Many communities in Indiana have adopted smoking bans, but Valparaiso is the first community in Northwest Indiana to adopt one.

The ordinance was approved by a 6-1 vote with Councilman Robert McCasland opposed. He is now running against Mayor Jon Costas, who supported the ban, in the Republican mayoral primary next month.

Councilman Jan Dick, who served on the committee that drafted the ordinance, said, "I haven't heard the hue and cry from the populace of 'Why did you do such a dumb thing?' I've had very few complaints. I've heard 25 or 30 positives and two negatives. It wasn't that (the negatives) want to be able to smoke, but they don't think the city should have done it."

Dick said one restaurateur was very upset because he wanted to allow smoking in one part of the restaurant and allow kids to dine in the other part, but he only complained after the law had been approved.

"It's going to have an impact on people, and not just the bars," Dick said. "The regulars at Jimmy's Cafe, who are the get-a-cup-of-coffee-and-smoke-a-pack-of-cigarettes kind of guys, might get upset and go out of town for a month. That was the experience of the Big Wheel. Some of the regular counter customers went away for a while, but they came back in about 30 days.

"I look forward to being able to go to Jimmy's. It's a great little restaurant, but the smoke is unbearable. A couple of other places were waiting for the city to pull the trigger. It has not killed other businesses, and I have encouraged people who stayed home because they were bothered by smoke to venture out to support restaurants that might have a slow spot for a while until things get back to normal."

About the ban

People can still smoke outside most businesses, as long as smokers are at least 15 feet from the building. Enforcement will be complaint driven, meaning the city will respond to citizen or employee complaints of violations. Communities that have adopted smoking bans usually found complaints dropped off dramatically after the first month or so. Anyone smoking in a prohibited area can be fined up to $50, while the owner or manager of a workplace that allows smoking can be fined $100 for the first offense. A second offense within a year can result in a $250 fine, and it's $500 for all other violations within the year.