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While it's been in effect for three years, but the state of Illinois is just now getting around to enforcing a law that requires tattoo parlors (as well as piercing places) to pass an annual inspection by the state Department of Public Health. Parlors will have to register with the state and meet a set of regulations to earn a passing grade. So far, 212 parlors have registered. [Tribune, NBC 5]
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While the Health Department has put their inspection program together, those of us who have complied, submitted a floor plan, and paid our fees, are not the problem. We're all ready for our inspections.
The Body Art Code specifically states in Section 797.400 Operational Requirements:
a) It shall be unlawful for any person to perform body art procedures unless such procedures are performed in a body art establishment with a current certificate of registration.
So if only 212 of us out of the 300 (I have seen 400 quoted more often) they know about are registered, would it not make more sense to first go after those other studios not registered, and the countless underground tattoo artists and permanent makeup people that are working out of dirty environments like nail salons?
Would it not make more sense to make the public aware that they should only seek body art procedures from registered studios and have a list of those studio posted online in order to find eligible registered facilities? (This is a registration process, not licensing.) Do people even know it is illegal for them to host home tattoo parties, for instance?
While there are still problems with the Rules and some definite biases, it is a great start, and while the Department of Health is likely suffering from budget cuts and other issues we all face with this economy, I applaud them for their efforts in moving this forward.