SPRINGFIELD — Restaurants, bakeries and school vending machines will not be banned from offering foods with artificial trans fats any time soon.
The Illinois Senate today voted 40-13 against legislation that would have banned trans fats from foods prepared on site and sold in stores. The measure would have exempted packaged foods, school cafeterias and small businesses with fewer than 50 employees or less than $4 million in annual sales.
The bill, sponsoring by Sen. Donne Trotter, met strong resistance from lawmakers, with many calling it overreaching and an unnecessary intrusion of government in people’s lives.
Trotter, D-Chicago, argued the legislation would have protected the public and saved the state money in health care costs needed to treat illnesses such as heart disease that have been linked to trans fats.
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