Mundelein massage parlors surrender licenses after prostitution arrests
A Mundelein massage parlor will shutter in the wake of a November prostitution arrest there.
The owner of S Massage, 688 S. Lake St., must surrender the license for the business this morning at village hall, the village board ruled during a hearing Monday night.
Roxolana Harasymiw, a lawyer for business owner Jianwei Zou, said her client had wanted two or three weeks to get his business in order, but the village rejected that request.
In a separate case, the owner of Tung Massage, 463 N. Lake St., agreed Monday to immediately surrender his massage license. Xiang Tung's business will remain open, however, and offer only foot massages.
A village massage license isn't required for that service.
"I don't want this license anymore," Tung said. "But I still want my business open."
Village officials were seeking to revoke the massage licenses for both storefront businesses.
One employee at each operation was arrested by Mundelein police Nov. 14 and charged with misdemeanor prostitution.
But in closed-door discussions with the village's attorney before Monday's hearings, both owners agreed to surrender the licenses.
In December, the village board approved significant changes to the rules governing local massage parlors.
Among other tasks, village officials will: review corporate information; request information about operating hours, employees and services; and require police interviews and background checks.
The arrests at Tung Massage and S Massage predate those changes, however, so the new rules didn't apply to the cases heard Monday.