(source.)

Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed a ban today that, as of Jan 1, will kick smokers out of bars. And restaurants. And (says highly unbiased Trib journalist David Mendell) 'just about every other public place where they might still be hanging out.' (Dick.)

So Chicago smokers will have six fewer months to suck cigarettes down in any indoor environment where they might encounter other human beings. Pretty soon there will be nowhere to smoke except one's own bedroom, where we'll just hole ourselves up with cartons of Camels, our own fully stocked bars (or at least assorted bottles of liquor on the windowsill, where we will also leave the empty ones to ash in), and debauched half-clothed friends who have given up seeing the light of day as long as we're all residents of the city of Chicago with a lingering addiction to the tobacco and nicotine that we love so damn much.