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The Village Board’s Committee of the Whole unanimously agreed Monday night to ban cigarette vending machines in Palatine and to increase the fine to $1,000 for anyone caught selling tobacco to a person under age 18.
The rule still must be approved at a regular Village Board meeting.
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It was proposed after Derek Swierczek, 19, a student at Fremd High School in Palatine, conducted research for a term paper to determine how many businesses in town would sell tobacco to minors. Swierczek said he had his 14-year-old brother, Drew, try to buy cigarettes.
Six of 18 businesses approached in Palatine agreed to sell cigarettes to the 14-year-old, his brother said.