St. Charles committee approves massage parlor rules

Editor's note: The original version of this story misstated the amount of the proposed annual fee. It is $250 annually plus a $50 fingerprinting fee during the initial application.

St. Charles aldermen, voting as a committee Monday, unanimously approved regulations created by city police officers in response to three prostitution arrests at local massage businesses in the spring.

The regulations require massage therapists to have membership in a professional massage organization, a diploma from a massage therapy school along with 500 hours of study and 100 hours of clinical practice, or a state-issued license.

That's just the basic prerequisite. The new regulations also create a $250 annual license fee and a process for regular massage therapy business inspections by the city.

Police Chief James Keegan promised a new level of vigilance when it comes to massage businesses in the city.

"There will be a vetting process," he said. "We will look at their criminal history. We want to make sure they are the type of massage therapists that we've all grown to respect over the years. If we see any history of inappropriate behavior or criminal activity, those folks will be denied and not be able to operate within St. Charles."

Violators of the proposed regulations are subject to both criminal charges and civil fines imposed by the city's liquor commission, which will have the authority to hand down fines and suspend or revoke massage business licenses.

The pending rules received the stamp of approval from Tony Karoumi, a board member of the Illinois chapter of the American Massage Therapy Association, based in Evanston. Karoumi piggybacked on a letter written by his board president, Becky Schwoebel, that recognized the city's regulations as a good effort toward upholding the good name of legitimate massage therapists.

Alderman Rita Payleitner, who also sits on the city's liquor commission, said the regulations are long overdue.

"All the bases are covered on this," she said. "This is something that's been struck in my craw for a while now. It shows that the purpose of this ordinance is protecting legitimate businesses."

To that end, athletic trainers, hospitals, doctors and a number of other professionals would be exempt from needing the annual license if the process is approved. Aldermen will meet as the full city council in December to take a final vote.