April 14--SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A trans fat ban may soon be on the menu across Illinois, making it only the second state in America to purge the artery-blocking substance from restaurants.
The Illinois House passed on Wednesday a bill that would ban use of the much-maligned modified fat from all private food service businesses, as well as school vending machines, effective in 2013.
If it survives the state Senate and becomes law, Illinois would join California, which last year imposed the nation's only statewide ban.
Metro East eateries aren't biting.
"I'm all for good health, (but) this is ridiculous," lamented Star Diserens, owner of the Alton Sports Tap, reflecting a common view about new regulations among area restaurant owners.
Artificial trans fat is found in shortening, margarine, crackers, salad dressings, frying oil and many other processed foods. It's formed when liquid oils are made into solid fats through the process of hydrogenation. The process extends the shelf life of foods, but the resulting trans fat has emerged in recent years as a prime culprit in high cholesterol, heart attacks and other health problems.
"It is poisonous to the system," said the sponsor of the ban, state Rep. La Shawn Ford, D-Chicago, shortly after the House passed his bill on a 73-43 vote. "People should be able to eat what they want, (but) it's also the responsibility of the government to provide the best quality of life for the people."
The Illinois bill is less sweeping than the one that then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law for California in 2008. It went into effect last year. The Illinois version wouldn't affect bakeries, which are big trans fat users, and it wouldn't apply to school cafeterias, because of concerns that cash-strapped school districts wouldn't be able to make the switch.
But for other outlets, from movie theaters to sit-down restaurants to fast food chains, artificial trans fat would effectively become a banned substance.
McDonalds and other national chains have been scaling back their trans fat content in recent years, in response to the California law, and to rules or proposals in places such as New York City and Chicago. Many locally owned restaurants in Illinois, though, would be coming late to the table.
Several Metro East restaurant owners Wednesday questioned why the Legislature is getting involved in what people order when they go out to eat -- especially in a state with two ex-governors convicted of corruption and a multibillion-dollar deficit hanging over the state budget.
"I think the Legislature has more to do than worry about this," said Ken Fischer, owner of Fischer's Restaurant in Belleville. If the bill becomes law, the decades-old restaurant, like all other private food-service outlets in the state, would have to figure out where trans fat is involved in its menu and get it out by Jan. 1, 2013.
"This would just be another regulation for us to deal with," said Fischer. "They should mind their own business."
Cindy Wilson, general manager at Ravanelli's in Collinsville, said the sheer size of the restaurant's menu could make it a daunting task to adhere to such a law.
"We have a very large menu here. It will affect a lot of our items, I'm sure," said Wilson.
"Why would they do this?" she added. "Nobody is making people go out to eat. It's a free country and people should be able to eat what they want."
The Illinois bill wouldn't apply to naturally occurring trans fat, which is relatively rare compared to the manufactured kind. The bill doesn't specify a penalty for violating the ban but would grant administration powers to the state's Department of Public Health, which could set fines and other enforcement mechanisms.
It's uncertain how the bill will do in the Senate, though like the House it does have a Democratic majority. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn's office said Wednesday only that he would review the bill if it reaches his desk.
The bill is HB1600.
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