Oak Park, IL Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)

Village Code section 20-9-4 provides that, except for persons seated at outdoor restaurant tables, smoking within fifteen feet (15') of a public and/or employee entrance to a public place or place of employment shall be prohibited. That 15-foot buffer applies Village-wide to entrances of the buildings covered by Article 9, meaning smokers cannot cluster near doorways in Oak Park even though the core indoor ban does not reach open-air spaces generally.

Section 20-9-5 goes further for property the Village itself controls: any owner, occupant, lessee, operator or manager of a public place or place of employment may voluntarily designate an entire facility as nonsmoking, including outdoor areas where smoking might otherwise be allowed, provided the required signs are posted under section 20-9-6. The Village exercises that option for itself in the same section: the Village designates all Village facilities, including the outdoor areas of such facilities, as no-smoking areas. Section 20-9-6(B) requires the Village to post signs at its facilities confirming that its outdoor areas are no-smoking pursuant to section 20-9-5.

The underlying definitions in section 20-9-1 make clear this article is built around enclosed spaces: SMOKE OR SMOKING covers inhaling, exhaling, burning or carrying any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, reed, plant or other lighted combustible substance, and PUBLIC PLACE is defined as an enclosed area open to or used by the general public. That is why the outdoor reach of Article 9 is limited to the specific extensions in sections 20-9-4 and 20-9-5, rather than a blanket park or sidewalk ban. Violations of any section from 20-9-1 through 20-9-6 draw a fine of not less than $50 and not more than $500 under section 20-9-7(C), enacted by Ordinance 2006-0-35 and amended through Ordinance 19-70 (2019).