* I’ve heard that casinos were probably the biggest stumbling block to passing a statewide smoking ban. That situation may be changing, but casino-area legislators may still not be on board yet…

Calling it a strategic move, the co-sponsor of a Senate bill to ban smoking in all public, indoor workplaces in Illinois, said a new amendment would push back the compliance date for casinos.

“We expect to pick up some votes,” Sen. John Cullerton, D-Chicago, said. “If you don’t pass the bill then the whole thing is a delayed effective date.”

Sen. Terry Link, D-Vernon Hills, sponsor of the legislation, said the amendment is a compromise for members who expressed concern about unfair competition for casinos that border other states. When Senate Bill 500 was debated in committee, several senators said those casinos would face unfair competition from states that do not have smoking bans, he said.

“We’re answering the concerns,” Link said. “They all feel that within a three-year period the other states will be non-smoking, too. So then, it’ll be an even playing field.”

* And the Sun-Times editorializes today in favor of a statewide smoking ban.

But though we wish the act included a provision similar to the one in Chicago’s ordinance permitting smoking in tobacco shops/bars where 65 percent of the sales are of tobacco or tobacco accessories, we believe its time has come and urge its passage. Twenty-one other states have responded to popular consensus on this issue. It’s time Illinois did, too.