Smoking Fines
Feeling a smoke around Chicago? Be careful…
A good ole 10-8-526 code violtion of CTA ordinance can run you from $35 to a whopping 500 depending on how fast you pay and what your crime was. The lowest of these violations being smoking a cigarette, even on an empty train or platform.. and the big ticket being $500 for drinking on the CTA. I ran into a little trouble myself recently for having a lit cigarette which I was about to put out, as I ran to catch a late-night train. I was stopped promptly after boarding, written up and missed my stop.
A more annoying violation has been the recent ban on smoking within 15 feet of an ATM, bus stop, or building entrance. The fine can be up to $100 and/or comfiscation of your ID. College students be warned, they do take away your student ID as if you were smoking in the stairwell! The bans are slowly creeping around the city and suburbs and an indoor smoking ban is about to hit bars like it did with Chicago restaurants. Luckily it’s summertime, no going out in the -20 for a smoke.. yet