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www.newstrib.com | Thursday, September 12, 2019 | 75 cents
Butt out
State says no more smoking in vehicles when minors are present By Kim Shute
BUREAU-PUTNAM BUREAU CHIEF
PRINCETON — Be aware, smokers: A new state law says if you light up, you’d better not do it in a vehice with anyone under 18 present. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law the prohibition, which could see up to a $100 fine for first time offenders and up to $250 for a second offense. The Bill, HB2276 makes it illegal to inhale, exhale, burn or
carry a lighted cigarette, cigar, pipe, weed, plant, regulated narcotic or other combustible substance in a motor vehicle containing a person under 18. It prohibits smoking regardless of whether the vehicle is in motion, at rest or has its windows down. Motorists cannot be pulled over strictly for the offense, however a ticket can be issued if the vehicle is pulled over for any other reason and anyone in the vehicle who is smoking can be cited.
WHAT DO PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY? Amy Johnson of Princeton is a proponent of the new law. “I’m glad it’s illegal,” Johnson said. “My mother did. It affected my health adversely for years. I wouldn’t allow her to smoke in my car or smoke around my kids. period.” “I’m glad it’s a law,” Erica Swartzmiller of Grand Ridge said. “My ex-mother in law used to do it all the time and it infuriated me.” See SMOKING Page A4
NEWSTRIBUNE PHOTO ILLUSTRATION/ SCOTT ANDERSON
Attention smokers. If you light up in the car, make sure you don’t do so when minors are present. A new law passed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker makes it illegal to smoke in a car, moving or not, with anyone under age 18 present. A first offense could give you a fine up to $100 with a subsequent fine up to $250.
110 flights in full gear
Illinois sues pharmaceutical companies over opioid crisis By Tom Collins
NEWSTRIBUNE SENIOR REPORTER AND THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Arlington fire training officer Scott Simpson (right) and fire captain Nick Drummer step up the stair climbing machines at Planet Fitness in Peru on Wednesday morning. The pair donned full firefighter equipment and climbed 110 flights of stairs to pay tribute to those lost in the Sept. 11 attacks 18 years ago. NEWSTRIBUNE PHOTO/ TRACEY MACLEOD
Arlington firefighters honor fallen 9/11 first responders By Brett Herrmann
NEWSTRIBUNE REPORTER
It took about 70 minutes to climb what would be 110 flights of stairs. But Scott Simpson and Nick Drummer were not dressed like anyone else in Peru’s Planet Fitness on Wednesday morning. The pair of Arlington firefighters were dressed in full firefighter gear and with each step paid tribute to those lost in the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
2001 when two jets struck the World Trade Center buildings in New York City. “We don’t have any 110-floor buildings in this area, so this is the closest we can get,” said Simpson, who prompted his fellow firefighters to take on the task honoring those lost in one of America’s greatest tragedies. After the planes hit and the towers collapsed, 343 firefighters would lose their lives, along with 60 police officers, eight EMTs and 2,997 civilians.
Wednesday’s showing on the stair climber was just one way to pay tribute to those who risked everything to help save others. Drummer said their gear added up to about 50 extra pounds to carry. But he also said the firefighters in NYC were carrying a lot of extra tools, hose length and other emergency equipment during the 9/11 response. “This isn’t even close to what they were carrying in the towers,” he said.
Simpson and Drummer wrapped up their efforts before noon Wednesday morning, 18 years after the attacks. But the plan is to do it all again next year, and every year after that. “It’s going to become a tradition,” Drummer said. Brett Herrmann can be reached at (815) 220-6933 or bherrmann@shawmedia. com. Follow him on Twitter @ NT_SpringValley.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul has filed a lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, alleging they carried out “unfair and deceptive” marketing campaigns contributing to the opioid crisis. Raoul said Wednesday that the opioid manufacturers and distributors “selfishly and irresponsibly sacrificed the health and safety of Illinois residents” for financial gain. Melissa Sims, a Princeton attorney who filed a lawsuit against another opioid manufacturer, Purdue Pharma, welcomed Raoul’s action. “I applaud attorney general Raoul for filing this,” Sims said. “I think it’s necessary to have as many of these lawsuits on file as possible, as Illinois has been especially hard hit. The volume of opiods sold in this state is reprehensible.” The lawsuit filed in Cook County names four pharmaceutical companies including Endo, Teva and Allergan, along with several distributors. Johnson & Johnson says the opioid crisis is a complex public health issue and is working to find ways to help. The other companies didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment. Separately, Illinois was among several states that sued OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma earlier this year. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says nearly 18,000 people in Illinois died from opioid overdoses from 1997 to 2017.
TONIGHT
Some Dems concerned as Judiciary sets Trump impeachment rules By Mary Clare Jalonick
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House Judiciary Committee is preparing for its first impeachment-related vote, set to define procedures for upcoming hearings on President Donald Trump even as some moderates in the caucus are urging the panel to slow down. The vote Thursday, while technical, is an escalation as the Judiciary panel has said it
is examining whether to recommend articles of impeachment. It would allow the committee to designate certain hearings as impeachment hearings, empower staff to question witnesses, allow some evidence to remain private and permit the president’s counsel to officially respond to testimony. As the committee moves forward, some moderate House Democrats — mostly freshmen who handed their party the majority in the 2018 election — are
concerned about the committee’s drumbeat on impeachment and the attention that comes with that continued action. Several of the freshmen met with House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler on Wednesday and expressed concerns about the path ahead. “It’s sucking the air out of all the good stuff that we’re doing, so that’s our concern,” said Florida Rep. Donna Shalala, a freshman Democrat who attended the meeting. She said
very few constituents in her swing district asked her about impeachment over the August recess. Rep. Anthony Brindisi, a freshman Democrat from New York who was also at the meeting, said that the people in his district “are calling for action on prescription drug prices, health care, border security and infrastructure — not clamoring for impeachment probes and investigations. See TRUMP Page A2
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