"Based on the complaints we had received," said EPD spokesman Lt. Ed Windbigler, "we just figured it was time to go out and make sure everyone was in compliance."
Passed in April 2008 and taking effect a month later, the city's clean air ordinance banned smoking in most public places. A one-year grace period allowed bars and pubs to permit smoking until May 2009.
Some bar and restaurant owners had spoken publicly at city council meetings, stating that some establishments weren't following the rules. If a few bars ignored the ban, they argued, the bars playing by the rules would lose business to smokers heading elsewhere.
Until Thursday, city code enforcement officers had been the primary enforcers of the ordinance since its passage, though the law does state that police and fire officials also can write citations.
Windbigler said the police and fire departments had issued tickets to violators, though Thursday was the first mass crackdown.
According to the ordinance, first-time violators receive a verbal warning, a written warning for the second infraction and a fine for each subsequent violation in the same calendar year.
Windbigler pointed out, though, that the tickets serve as notice of a court date, so the citations can be tracked and documented. Even first- and second- time violators must appear before a judge, and the verbal and written warnings are only issued upon conviction.
That procedure could lead to a court fee of up to $114.50, to be determined by the judge. So far, none of the warnings issued has resulted in those charges, he said, but that could change.
Building Commissioner Dennis Mann said his code inspectors have not spent time this year writing smoking tickets. Any citations they did issue in 2009 would no longer affect current tickets, since each business or individual starts with a clean slate in the new year.
The sweep was the first police have made to enforce the smoking law, but it won't be the last, officials said.
"As long as this ordinance is active," Windbigler said, "we're going to continue to make sure everyone's in compliance."
The businesses cited in Thursday's search include:
* Hunter's Place, 2703 S. Main St.
* JoAnn's Bar and Grill, 1915 Borneman Ave.
* Big Easy, 160 Easy Shopping Place
* BJ Stars, 405 Baldwin St.
* Boltz Lounge, 1517 E. Bristol St.
* Cappy's North Side, 1000 N. Michigan St.