Ad-Hoc Committee: County’s Lack of Home Rule Stifles Effort to Ban Kratom and Non-Nicotine Vapes

Will County Board Ad-Hoc Ordinance Review Committee Meeting | April 14, 2026

Article Summary: The Will County Board Ad-Hoc Ordinance Review Committee approved updates to its tobacco and alternative nicotine regulations, raising retail license fees while acknowledging that the county lacks the legal authority to ban substances like Kratom or non-nicotine vapes without state legislation.

Will County Tobacco Regulations Key Points:

• Ordinance #26-4250-01 amends Chapter 120 of the county code, governing the sale and possession of tobacco and alternative nicotine products.

• The annual retail tobacco product license fee will increase from $25 to $100.

• County staff explored banning Kratom and general vaping products, but state statutes do not grant non-home-rule counties the authority to regulate them.

• District 10 Board Member Kelly Hickey expressed hope for future state legislation to ban Kratom entirely due to its highly addictive nature.

On Tuesday, April 14, 2026, the Will County Board Ad-Hoc Ordinance Review Committee unanimously approved updates to the county’s tobacco ordinances, though members expressed frustration over their inability to legally crack down on emerging synthetic products and vapes.

The committee advanced Ordinance #26-4250-01, which amends Chapter 120 of the Will County Code of Ordinances regarding the sales and possession of tobacco and alternative nicotine products. Among the granular changes outlined in the agenda packet, the ordinance officially raises the annual retail tobacco product license fee from $25 to $100.

However, the bulk of the committee’s discussion centered on what the ordinance could not include. During a previous meeting, committee members asked staff to research the possibility of adding bans on products like Kratom and general vaping devices to the local code.

Will County staff member Philip Mock informed the committee that the county’s legal hands are tied because it is not a home-rule municipality.

“The statutes only allow us so much to do nicotine. That’s why normal vaping isn’t there,” Mock explained to the board. “There is a state statute on Kratom already that criminalizes it worse than we could do that… I did not put it in there because the state statute doesn’t say this can be adopted by local units of government.”

Will County Board Member Kelly Hickey (D-Naperville) noted that the City of Rockford recently instituted a ban on all products containing a specific synthetic compound related to Kratom. Mock clarified that Rockford is a home-rule community—a designation automatically granted to Illinois municipalities with populations over 25,000, which grants them broader legislative powers—whereas county governments do not share that automatic authority.

“Hopefully then there’s some other legislation that’s working through that’ll add some stiffer penalties. It still takes care of minors and things like that,” Hickey said. “It sounds like it’s a really nasty situation with Kratom and it’s very addictive and I wish we could ban it altogether.”

Following the discussion, a motion to advance the ordinance was made by Board Member Dawn Bullock (D-Plainfield) and seconded by Vince Logan (R-Joliet). It passed via a unanimous voice vote.