2 raided Belvidere massage parlors were registered with the city - Rockford Register Star

[massage]

Susan Vela Staff writer @susanvela
BELVIDERE — Two of the four massage parlors police raided in September were registered as businesses with the City Clerk’s office.

Owners of Spa Tui-Na, 120 N. State St., and Royal Oriental Massage, 404 S. State St., filled out registration forms in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

City Council members are now considering mandatory licenses for Belvidere businesses because they want to improve the city’s reputation in the wake of the massage parlor raids that led to 14 arrests on prostitution and Massage Licensing Act violations.

Alderman Ronald Brooks also wants mandatory background checks for anyone working at a massage business.

“There is such a thing as legitimate business,” he said. “The bad ones overshadow the good ones.”

Precision Spa Inc. is identified on the registration documents as Spa Tui-Na’s owner. Qiuna Martin, 38, of Gilberts identified herself as the owner of Royal Oriental Massage. She was arrested after the raids on three misdemeanor counts of practicing massage therapy without the proper license. Pretrial court proceedings are set for December.

C'est La Vie Health Spa & Modeling, 401 S. State St., and Executive Relaxation Station, 134 N. State St., have not registered their massage businesses with the city. They also were raided.

The four massage parlors remain closed.

Business registration forms are used by City Clerk Shauna Arco and her staff mainly for record keeping and to help police officers contact business owners.

The forms request basic information, such as the business name, address and contact information.

By signing, the owner confirms the business abides by local zoning regulations and has the proper building permit, if required, for operation.

“We’re maintaining a record," Arco said. "My department for sure is not going out looking for businesses (that haven’t filled out the forms). That’s not my job to go look for them, either. I’m the keeper of the records.”

Her records indicate that 255 businesses and 96 home-occupied operations — such as day care and photography — have valid registrations.

Susan Vela: 815-987-1392; [email protected]; @susanvela

Let's block ads! (Why?)