SB2986 104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB104 20393 RLC 33853 b

104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB2986

Introduced 1/27/2026, by Sen. Lakesia Collins

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

730 ILCS 5/3-7-10 new

Amends the Unified Code of Corrections. Provides that the Director of Corrections shall establish a 5-year pilot program in 3 institutions or facilities of the Department of Corrections to permit a committed person who has a gang tattoo to have that tattoo removed by a physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse licensed in this State or by a person who has a certificate of registration issued by the Department of Public Health under the Tattoo and Body Piercing Establishment Registration Act to operate a tattoo and body piercing establishment. Provides that the institutions or facilities selected by the Director shall be provided with equipment and sanitary needs to accomplish the removal of the tattoos in a safe manner, including medical-grade cosmetic laser removal equipment. Provides that a committed person in a designated pilot institution or facility of the Department who has a gang tattoo may have that tattoo removed by an authorized person. Provides that a committed person may request training as a body artist. Establishes qualifications for that training. Provides that successful completion of the program qualifies the person as a body artist after completion of the committed person's sentence. Provides that, if the balance in the committed person's Residents' Benefit Fund is $500 or more, the moneys in the Fund shall be used to pay for the committed person's gang tattoo removal. Provides that if the balance in the committed person's Residents' Benefit Fund is less than $500, the committed person shall receive the tattoo removal free of charge. Provides that the Director shall establish reasonable costs to be charged to a committed person with at least a $500 balance in the committed person' Residents' Benefit Fund who has his or her gang tattoo removed. Defines "gang tattoo" and "tattoo".

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning criminal law.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Unified Code of Corrections is amended by adding Section 3-7-10 as follows:

(730 ILCS 5/3-7-10 new)

Sec. 3-7-10. Tattoo removal; pilot program.

(a) In this Section:

"Body art" means the practice of physical body adornment, including, but not limited to, body piercing, tattooing, cosmetic tattooing, branding, and scarification. "Body art" does not include (i) practices that are considered medical procedures by the Illinois State Medical Board or (ii) piercing of the non-cartilaginous portion or lobe of the ear with pre-sterilized single-use stud-and-clasp ear-piercing systems.

"Body artist" means a practitioner of body art.

"Gang tattoo" means a tattoo designated by the Director of Corrections as a symbol of a specific gang as defined in Section 10 of the Illinois Streetgang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act.

"Tattoo" means an indelible mark or figure visible through the skin of a human being, caused by pricking with a needle, machine, or other means.

(b) The Director of Corrections shall establish a 5-year pilot program in 3 institutions or facilities of the Department of Corrections to permit a committed person who has a gang tattoo to have that tattoo removed by a physician, physician assistant, or registered nurse licensed in this State or by a person who has a certificate of registration issued by the Department of Public Health under the Tattoo and Body Piercing Establishment Registration Act to operate a tattoo and body piercing establishment. The institutions or facilities selected by the Director shall be provided with equipment and sanitary needs to accomplish the removal of the tattoos in a safe manner, including medical-grade cosmetic laser removal equipment.

(c) The Director of Corrections, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, shall establish a body artist training program in the institutions or facilities described in subsection (b) that would qualify a committed person to be qualified to operate a body art establishment upon release from the correctional institution or facility. A committed person who qualifies for the training program shall be permitted to observe the body tattoo removal procedure but may not perform the procedure or handle the equipment used in the procedure. The Director of Corrections shall authorize the chief administrative officer of the selected correctional institutions or facilities to choose committed persons with good conduct and who are to be released within a year to train as body artists. The Department of Public Health shall establish the curriculum for the program and the length of the program. Upon completion of the training program, the committed persons shall take a test to determine proficiency as a body artist. Upon the successful passage of the test, the committed persons shall be qualified to receive a certificate of registration from the Department of Public Health to operate a body art establishment upon release from the correctional institution or facility.

(d) A committed person in a designated pilot institution or facility of the Department who has a gang tattoo may have that tattoo removed by a person authorized in subsection (b).

(e) If the balance in the committed person's Residents' Benefit Fund, as described in Section 3-4-3, is $500 or more, the moneys in the Fund shall be used to pay for the committed person's gang tattoo removal. If the balance in the committed person's Residents' Benefit Fund is less than $500, the committed person shall receive the tattoo removal free of charge.

(f) The Director shall establish reasonable costs to be charged to a committed person with at least a $500 balance in the committed person' Residents' Benefit Fund who has his or her gang tattoo removed.