Palatine council rejects tattoo parlor

Palatine officials say the community just isn’t ready for a tattoo parlor.

Though it lauded the owners’ character and thorough business plan, the council Tuesday unanimously shot down a proposal to open Maximum Tattoo Studio and Gallery at Rand Road and Capri Drive.

“We’re a particular town,” Councilman Aaron Del Mar said. “There is a stigma to (tattoo studios). Having this business on Rand Road is going to upset quite a few people.”

Though its neighbors would include numerous used-car dealerships, a flea market and payday loan service center, the council was concerned about the tattoo parlor’s proximity to a neighborhood.

The vote was reminiscent of two years ago when the council rejected a pawn shop despite the support of adjacent businesses.

Resident Laurie Acevedo presented a petition with 106 signatures opposed to the business collected from the 250-home Pinehurst Manor subdivision.

Acevedo said that even though the tattoo process wouldn’t be visible from outside the storefront, kids would walk by and know what was going on inside. She was also concerned Maximum Tattoo would hold up to four art gallery events a year, with overflow parking ending up in the neighborhood.

“We don’t want that attraction in our neighborhood,” she said. “We’re trying to clean up the Rand-Dundee corridor.”

Multiple people including a neighbor, relative and father of two tattooed daughters spoke on behalf of petitioners Beth and Phil Cisco, saying the council could expect a class-act operation run by family-oriented people.

The Ciscos currently work as tattoo artists at a Chicago studio, and say most of their customers travel from the North and Northwest suburbs. The Wheeling residents said they picked Palatine because they believe there’s a strong demand for the service in the area.

“I just think that it’s time to get past the stigma and social connotations that go along with tattooing,” Beth Cisco said, “and I just want to say that as a parent we have no intentions of hurting anyone’s children.”

Councilman Jack Wagner said that in researching the proposal, he checked out a Des Plaines tattoo parlor and felt as if he were in his dentist’s office. He said he wouldn’t rule out a tattoo operation in the village all together, but couldn’t support the particular location.