CITY HALL — The City Council passed a ban on smokeless tobacco at sporting events Wednesday, including baseball players at Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field.
The proposal, sponsored by Ald. Edward Burke (14th), cleared his Finance Committee Friday and met little additional opposition before the full City Council.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) testified in favor of it last week, and it also had the blessing of White Sox Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf and Major League Baseball.
Baseball players, however, have a tradition of having a wad of chewing tobacco tucked in the their cheek, going back to 1959 White Sox Most Valuable Player Nellie Fox and well beyond.
Ald. Tom Tunney (44th), whose ward includes Wrigley Field, wondered about the "enforcement mechanism," but Durbin testified players and the media would have to shame themselves into obeying the law.
Ballplayers will have to deal with similar bans imposed this season in big-league cities Los Angeles, San Francisco and Boston.
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