Awesome Tattoos

A proposal to open a tattoo parlor along Rand Road has been quashed by the Palatine Village Council.

Saying tattoo parlors carry a stigma, the council has unanimously voted against a so-called unique use permit for a tattoo studio at 1709 N. Road, one block north of Dundee.

Although would-be operators Beth and Phil Cisco of Wheeling said the storefront Maximum Tattoo business would offer “good tattoos for good people,” neighbors presented a petition with 106 signatures against the tattoo shop.

Many of the opponents live in the 250-home Pinehurst Manor subdivision.

“We don’t want this anywhere near our subdivision,” said Laurie Acevedo, who has lived in the area for two decades. “It’s not a question of (whether) having tattoos is OK. It’s where they are putting the establishment in a family neighborhood where there are kids who walk and ride the school bus.”

Acevedo said the village should not attract “the wrong kind of business” to the Rand and Dundee area.

Instead, she said attempts should be made to “clean up” the area since and attract more high-end shops instead of what she called “lower quality” entities.

The Ciscos, however, emphasized they are responsible adults who raise a family and live on a quiet Wheeling cul de sac.

They said they have been tattoo artists for decades, working as consultants to a tattoo shop on Chicago’s North side and now aiming to open their own Palatine business.

“We will not allow our studio to be a hangout for kids,” said Beth Cisco. “We enjoy the opportunity to make a living doing something we love, which is our art.”

She said the parlor would be clean, friendly, reliable and responsible, and that no one who appears to be intoxicated would be allowed to be inked, she said.

Carl Mattes, a consultant for the parlor, said 60 percent of clients are women aged 18 to 40 getting small ink designs of hearts, special dates or characters on their arm, shoulder or leg. Public health and safety industry precautions would have been in place to “maintain a sterile environment,” he said.

No one under 18 would be served.

The Ciscos even had neighbors in Wheeling vouching for them. one called them excellent, polite neighbors who keep their home and yard neat.

The tattoo studio would have been located in a largely vacant center next to a tax service, payday loan store and a temporary staffing office.

Councilman Jack Wagner said he visited a Des Plaines tattoo studio and was surprised to find it very clean and resembling a doctor or dentist’s office.

Although Wagner didn’t object to the Palatine parlor, he said it was not the appropriate location.

Officials raised the possibility of changing the name and making other efforts to have the studio appear more upscale but ultimately decided to vote down the plan instead.