Chief lives on with Illini fans
URBANA -- Ray Allen Hughes is not going to the Rose Bowl, but his artwork will be there.
Hughes, owner of Vision World tattoo parlor in Urbana, inks Chief Illiniwek tattoos. In March, he designed one on Paul Stewart's upper shoulder.
"I was feeling a little rebellious," said Stewart, 50, who will be in Pasadena, Calif., today to watch the University of Illinois football team take on the University of Southern California Trojans in the Rose Bowl.
Hughes' Chief Illiniwek tattoos are popular. On Feb. 21, the day of the Chief's last dance, he tattooed Chief heads on two defiant Illini fans. Last Friday he traced the outline again, tattooing a Chief face surrounded by a circle on Jason Grill's upper back.
Grill, 28, of nearby Paxton, wanted to get a Chief tattoo as a tribute to his grandparents, who were longtime Illini season ticket holders. He, his parents and his grandparents are all alumni. His fiance, Melissa, 29, surprised him with the Christmas gift.
Hughes, 37, runs Vision World with wife Julie and has been in business for 15 years. He estimates he has inked 100 Chief Illiniwek logos in the past 14 years. It takes him 45 minutes to do the Chief face, and he charges $110 for the session. A side profile of the Chief, with fully detailed face and "Illinois" spelled out in the headdress, takes 90 minutes and costs $180.
There are four Chief samples for customers to pick from. Most choose the well-known front view.
Tattoo-wearer Steve Sample, who lives in the farm town of Foosland, said a favorite activity was watching the Chief dance on Saturdays at Illini home games. "It was weird this year adjusting. You still see him out there, even thought he's not there," Sample said.
The university stopped using the Chief as a mascot after the National Collegiate Athletic Association put sanctions on the university, saying the symbol was hostile and abusive to American Indians.
Although Vision World is located in Urbana, home of the university, very few of its customers are college students. Illinois law requires tattoo patrons to be at least 18 years old. Many of Hughes' Chief-seeking customers are between ages 40 and 60. Most are local residents, alumni, or die-hard fans from small towns. Some get the tattoo to honor the Chief and the university, while others wear it to protest the NCAA ruling.
For customer and Champaign resident Paul Stewart, the Chief will dance whenever he flexes his arm.
"To see the Chief at halftime was a real exciting event," Stewart said. "I would love to take my arm out to the center of the football field and do a little dance."