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Smoking ban working in prisons, say guards, officials 

Five months after the statewide smoking ban forced all Illinois inmates to quit cold turkey, naysayers' predictions of doom have yet to come true, said prison officials.

Detractors of the policy when it was first debated -- such as the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees -- warned of the possibility of a cigarette black market arising within prison facilities or arguments over smokes becoming worse due to their scarcity.

AFSCME last year filed an unfair business practices suit against the state, claiming the ban was not fair to employees as it would ratchet up tension in an already tense environment.

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