Illinois Ban in Committee NOW - PLEASE READ!!

[kristin]

Illinois folks - we will be updating when we will need folks to come speak before the committee. Treece & JustJulie are the Vapers Coalition members who are planning to go to Illinois to speak on your behalf and they'll need your support!

Bill assigned to Human Services Committee (House of Representatives) yesterday. The following link will take folks to the list of members of that committee.
Illinois General Assembly - House Committee Members
I'll post more later (on my way out the door) but here are the Human Services folks:
Representative Naomi D. Jakobsson (D)
103rd District
naomi@naomijakobsson.com
Springfield Office:
257-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 558-1009
(217) 557-7680 FAX
District Office:
206 N. Randolph
Suite 120
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 373-5000
(217) 373-8679 FAX
Champaign County
**********************
Representative Constance A. Howard (D)
34th District
howardca@ilga.gov
Springfield Office:
270-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-6476
(217) 782-0952 FAX
District Office:
8729 S. State Street
Chicago, IL 60619
(773) 783-8800
(773) 783-8773 FAX
Cook County
**********************
Representative Patricia R. Bellock (R)
47th District
no email listed
Springfield Office:
227-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-1448
(217) 782-2289 FAX
District Office:
1 S. Cass Ave.
Westmont Centre, Suite 205
Westmont, IL 60559
(630) 852-8633
(630) 852-6530 FAX
DuPage County
***************************
Representative Sandy Cole (R)
62nd District
no email listed
Springfield Office:
205A-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-7320
(217) 782-5257 FAX
District Office:
137 Center St.
Suite 2-A
Grayslake, IL 60030
(847) 543-0062
(847) 543-8862 FAX
Lake County
***************************
Representative Annazette Collins (D)
10th District
Email: collinsar@ilga.gov
Springfield Office:
262-W Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8077
(217) 557-7643 FAX
District Office:
259 North Pulaski Road
Chicago, IL 60624
(773) 533-0010
(773) 533-1971 FAX
Cook County
**************************
Representative Mary E. Flowers (D)
31st District
Email: flowersme@ilga.gov
Springfield Office:
251-E Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-4207
(217) 782-1130 FAX
District Office:
2525 W. 79th Street
Chicago, IL 60652
(773) 471-5200
(773) 471-1036 FAX
Cook County
**************************

Representative Timothy L. Schmitz (R)
49th District
Deputy Republican Leader
Email: info@timschmitz.org
Springfield Office:
224-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5457
(217) 782-1138 FAX
District Office:
127 Hamilton Street
Suite D
Geneva, IL 60134
(630) 845-9590
(630) 845-9592 FAX
Kane County
******************
Please start writing/calling letting them know how important it is to keep e-cigarettes legal and accessible in the State of Illinois. Use the form letter Treece provided and feel free to copy it and either send it as is or make changes to make it more personal . . . just do it.
Will post more later.

If you don't know what to write, feel free to copy the sample letter below and personalize it where indicated.
Snail mail is better than e-mail (and we don't have all their email addresses, anyway). Calls to legislators from constituents are noted.
And again, these legislators likely don't know the first thing about e-cigarettes, so telling your personal story can make a difference.

Date



Re: Please OPPOSE SB3174 (tobacco Accessories-Nicotine), banning the sale of e-cigarettes in Illinois!

Dear Assemblymember:

I am writing to urge you to oppose SB3174, a bill that would make the sale of electronic cigarettes illegal in the state of Illinois.

Many long-term smokers have had great success switching from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes. Almost all of them have experienced benefits; for example, they breathe easier, no longer cough, and have improved senses of taste and smell. They appreciate that there is no secondhand smoke, flame, ash, or litter with e-cigarettes.

If this bill passes, Illinois residents will be unable to purchase e-cigarettes, and many will feel they have no choice but to return to smoking deadly cigarettes. Moreover, non-residents will not be able to purchase their e-cigarettes from Illinois companies they know and trust. This would be a great disservice both to consumers of e-cigarettes and to the businesses that provide them.

While I fully support prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, to take away this life-saving choice from adults is clearly wrong. The American Association of Public Health Physicians estimates the risk of electronic cigarettes to be less than 1% of the risk from smoking traditional cigarettes, so it makes no sense to ban the safer choice while leaving the deadliest product on the market.

Please consider both sides of this important issue carefully before casting your vote for something that will have such a profound impact on people's lives.


Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
[FULL NAME
ADDRESS
PHONE NUMBER]

 

[kristin]

bumping.......

 

[scheherezade]

Good luck, sent out all my emails last week, let us know.

 

[kristin]

Thanks, but we need to write them by US mail or CALL. Emails don't get read - honestly, folks, email is a waste of time. Please print out a letter and mail them by snail mail or call!

NOW IS THE TIME TO TAKE THE EXTRA TIME AND SAVE YOUR RIGHT TO vape!!

 

[Joejokin]

I'll be printing and sending out my letters today

 

[Aizen-sama]

If it's relatively harmless and makes people happy, we need to make it illegal immediately. Sounds like a lot of the laws in this country. Does this make possession/use illegal or just the sale of e-cigs?

 

[kristin]

The sale, not possession - yet.

But this also affects at least two major vendors - V4L and Cignot, which are both located in Illinois and ship to vapers everywhere!

 

[Vicks Vap-oh-Yeah]

When and Where are these hearings going to be held? If necessary (and not too far down the state) I'll be there in person.

 

[kristin]

Still waiting on Treece & Julie on that. I don't think a public comments session has been scheduled yet - but you can be sure we'll notify everyone!

 

[JustJulie]

Thanks for posting this, Kristin.

I've also posted in the legal subforum and we've provided some additional email addresses we were able to ferret out. Here's the full post:

The bill was assigned to the Human Services Committee (House of Representatives) yesterday. The following link will take folks to the list of members of that committee.

Illinois General Assembly - House Committee Members

Here are the representatives serving on the Human Services Committee (House of Representatives) along with the contact information we've been able to find thus far:

Representative Naomi D. Jakobsson (D)
103rd District
naomi@naomijakobsson.com
n.jakobsson@worldnet.att.net

Springfield Office:
257-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 558-1009
(217) 557-7680 FAX
District Office:
206 N. Randolph
Suite 120
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 373-5000
(217) 373-8679 FAX
Champaign County

**********************

Representative Constance A. Howard (D)
34th District
howardca@ilga.gov
howard@sbcglobal.net
choward32@worldnet.att.net

Springfield Office:
270-S Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-6476
(217) 782-0952 FAX
District Office:
8729 S. State Street
Chicago, IL 60619
(773) 783-8800
(773) 783-8773 FAX
Cook County

**********************

Representative Patricia R. Bellock (R)
47th District
rep@pbellock.com

Springfield Office:
227-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-1448
(217) 782-2289 FAX
District Office:
1 S. Cass Ave.
Westmont Centre, Suite 205
Westmont, IL 60559
(630) 852-8633
(630) 852-6530 FAX
DuPage County

***************************

Representative Sandy Cole (R)
62nd District
representativesandycole@comcast.net

Springfield Office:
205A-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-7320
(217) 782-5257 FAX
District Office:
137 Center St.
Suite 2-A
Grayslake, IL 60030
(847) 543-0062
(847) 543-8862 FAX
Lake County

***************************

Representative Annazette Collins (D)
10th District
Email: collinsar@ilga.gov


Springfield Office:
262-W Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-8077
(217) 557-7643 FAX
District Office:
259 North Pulaski Road
Chicago, IL 60624
(773) 533-0010
(773) 533-1971 FAX
Cook County

**************************

Representative Mary E. Flowers (D)
31st District
Email: flowersme@ilga.gov
staterep.flowers@comcast.net

Springfield Office:
251-E Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-4207
(217) 782-1130 FAX
District Office:
2525 W. 79th Street
Chicago, IL 60652
(773) 471-5200
(773) 471-1036 FAX
Cook County

**************************

Representative Timothy L. Schmitz (R)
49th District
Deputy Republican Leader
Email: info@timschmitz.org
ilrep49@sbcglobal.net
friendsoftls@sbcglobal.net

Springfield Office:
224-N Stratton Office Building
Springfield, IL 62706
(217) 782-5457
(217) 782-1138 FAX
District Office:
127 Hamilton Street
Suite D
Geneva, IL 60134
(630) 845-9590
(630) 845-9592 FAX
Kane County

******************

Please, please, please take the time to write (snail mail as well as email) and call these folks to let them know how passionately you care about this matter. Even if you don't live in Illinois, you should know that some very well-respected and popular vendors are located in Illinois (Vapor4Life and Cignot are two that immediately come to mind, and I know there are others). If Illinois passes this legislation, it will effectively shut down the entire PV market for not only Illinois residents (because it will be illegal to sell to Illinois residents), but it will also affect those of us who rely on Illinois vendors for our supplies.

Several excellent letters are floating around for people to use as templates. For those who wish, here's an easy letter that's ready for you to fill in your name and address and mail out:

******************************

Dear Assemblymember:

I am writing to urge you to oppose SB3174, a bill that would make the sale of electronic cigarettes illegal in the state of Illinois.

Many long-term smokers have had great success switching from traditional cigarettes to e-cigarettes. Almost all of them have experienced benefits; for example, they breathe easier, no longer cough, and have improved senses of taste and smell. They appreciate that there is no secondhand smoke, flame, ash, or litter with e-cigarettes.

If this bill passes, Illinois residents will be unable to purchase e-cigarettes, and many will feel they have no choice but to return to smoking deadly cigarettes. Moreover, non-residents will not be able to purchase their e-cigarettes from Illinois companies they know and trust. This would be a great disservice both to consumers of e-cigarettes and to the businesses that provide them.

While I fully support prohibiting the sale of e-cigarettes to minors, to take away this life-saving choice from adults is clearly wrong. The American Association of Public Health Physicians estimates the risk of electronic cigarettes to be less than 1% of the risk from smoking traditional cigarettes, so it makes no sense to ban the safer choice while leaving the deadliest product on the market.

Please consider both sides of this important issue carefully before casting your vote for something that will have such a profound impact on people's lives.


Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
[FULL NAME
ADDRESS
PHONE NUMBER]

**********************************

I also want to echo what others have said about the importance of being reasonable and civil. From what we can tell, most senators who voted on the matter really had very little information about e-cigarettes. To the extent we can provide information to members of the House of Representatives to let them know about how e-cigarettes as have helped so many of us reduce or eliminate our smoking habit, I think we have a real shot at defeating this.

 

[JustJulie]

Sorry for the separate post, but I feel like my last one was a big enough "wall of text." <sigh>

It's been assigned to a committee, but the word we're getting is that no action is going to be taken on it until after Easter because the House has its own bills to deal with right now. (This bill originated in the Senate.) That gives us a bit of breathing room but not nearly enough.

Treece and I are trying to get some meetings set up next week to bend a few ears in Springfield. We're preparing packages to be delivered to legislators, primarily focusing on the Human Services Committee since that's where it is right now. We will keep folks posted and let people know as and when we hear anything.

This is pretty serious in that if you live in Illinois and this passes, you might find yourself not only without an Illinois vendor, but you may find several out of state vendors unwilling to ship to Illinois since it will be illegal to sell to Illinois residents.

And for the non-Illinois folks, aside from the obvious--namely, every time a state falls, it makes it that much easier for another one to fall as well--we also have the problem of some very good vendors getting shut down. This isn't just a fight for the Illinois folks.

As soon as we know when and where bodies are needed, we'll holler. But for now, sit down with a cup of coffee and your e-cig of choice and start making calls and writing letters.

 

[New_World]

bump

writing letters and calling!
lets go before its too late vapers!

 

[Phero]

Thank you to everyone for helping Illinois vapers educate our state government on the impact this will have on all of us! Your calls and letters are greatly appreciated!

 

[kristin]

The Illinois vapers contingent did an awesome job! The committee refused to vote on the bill until they get more information. And they made the news! Vote on electronic cigarettes ban postponed in Ill. House committee | Political Fix | STLtoday

Hopefuly, JustJulie will come by and fill us in on some of the details - they have some great stories! They called me after the meeting and sounded pumped, excited and hopeful!

The job is not done yet - there is another meeting next week. And then we have to take our fight to New York!!

 

[Vicks Vap-oh-Yeah]

I can give you my first-hand account of things - it went VERY well....

I count this as a HUGE step in the right direction. You should have seen the looks on the faces of the assembled committee members...... I think each and every one of them there finally GOT it in the end.

It was incredible to watch the perceptions shift in the committee. The members went from "this is a no-brainer," to "I didn't realize that," to "Why weren't we told this???" Even the bill's author is having doubts about what he's written, IMO.

The Health Committee chairperson asked point blank if the legislature could be revised to ONLY prohibit the sale of PV's to minors. The bill's author deferred to the lobbyist for the ALA. SHE said point blank "this is the way WE wrote the bill."

Since when do lobbyists write laws?

We've got a week. The committee, I feel, will shoot it down if it remains as written. One way to bolster our odds of this happening is: I suggest that each and every IL vaper who can beg, borrow, or steal the time off get down there and pack that hearing room. Sign up as being an opponent of the bill - they read the lists of citizen witnesses before the bill is discussed. There will be no further opportunities for citizens to speak in committee, unfortunately, but to hear the lists of people sitting in that room, actively opposing this bill, will KILL it in committee, in my opinion.

This is your call to action, IL vapers - GET TO SPRINGFIELD NEXT WEEK.

 

[rottmommie]

i wish I could be there....but am glad there are those that can be!

I can give you my first-hand account of things - it went VERY well....

I count this as a HUGE step in the right direction. You should have seen the looks on the faces of the assembled committee members...... I think each and every one of them there finally GOT it in the end.

It was incredible to watch the perceptions shift in the committee. The members went from "this is a no-brainer," to "I didn't realize that," to "Why weren't we told this???" Even the bill's author is having doubts about what he's written, IMO.

The Health Committee chairperson asked point blank if the legislature could be revised to ONLY prohibit the sale of PV's to minors. The bill's author deferred to the lobbyist for the ALA. SHE said point blank "this is the way WE wrote the bill."

Since when do lobbyists write laws?

We've got a week. The committee, I feel, will shoot it down if it remains as written. One way to bolster our odds of this happening is: I suggest that each and every IL vaper who can beg, borrow, or steal the time off get down there and pack that hearing room. Sign up as being an opponent of the bill - they read the lists of citizen witnesses before the bill is discussed. There will be no further opportunities for citizens to speak in committee, unfortunately, but to hear the lists of people sitting in that room, actively opposing this bill, will KILL it in committee, in my opinion.

This is your call to action, IL vapers - GET TO SPRINGFIELD NEXT WEEK.

 

[TropicalBob]

Let's hope careful notes were made of which arguments seemed most persuasive. I, too, count this a victory, an important one, but not End Game in Illinois.

The next hearing might well be packed with representatives from our powerful foes: AHA, ALA, ACS, even ASH. A setback like this will not sit well with them. As the woman said, "This is the way WE wrote the bill." Yes, lobbyists write bills, probably most of them. Do you really think these legislators have the time, brains or energy to write such bills? Not a chance. They submit the work of others.

Stay on this, Illinois people, and set an example for the rest of us to follow as more states propose bans.

 

[Katya]

Let's hope careful notes were made of which arguments seemed most persuasive. I, too, count this a victory, an important one, but not End Game in Illinois.

The next hearing might well be packed with representatives from our powerful foes: AHA, ALA, ACS, even ASH. A setback like this will not sit well with them. As the woman said, "This is the way WE wrote the bill." Yes, lobbyists write bills, probably most of them. Do you really think these legislators have the time, brains or energy to write such bills? Not a chance. They submit the work of others.

Stay on this, Illinois people, and set an example for the rest of us to follow as more states propose bans.

By the way, California amended its bill to apply only to minors. You may want to point that out. Nobody wants to sell to minors. This is their smokescreen. Save the children.

 

[Oliver]

To keep the focus on one thread, I'm closing this, and other threads - please post in: http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...more-action-needed-next-week.html#post1264125

SJ