Joliet has approved a tattoo studio in a building on the edge of the new City Square.

The studio will go into the Crystal Building but three stories up.

Joseph Spillie’s plan faced opposition from another tattoo shop operator in Joliet but was endorsed by one City Council member as well as the main retail tenant of the Crystal Building.

Spillie said he will do an appointments-only business, although the special use permit approved by the City Council on Tuesday does not require it.

Spillie told the council at its workshop meeting on Monday that he will do business by “private appointment only with no walk-in traffic.”

His business will be on the third floor of the Crystal building, located at 81 N. Chicago St. and next to the newly opened City Square.

“My clients are currently booking three to four months out,” Spillie told the council. “My clients sit six to nine hours with me.”

The council voted 8-1 for the tattoo studio with Jan Quillman casting the only no vote.

The vote followed comments from George Zabala, owner of Lifestyle Ink Tattoos in Rockdale, opposing Spillie’s plan.

Zabala objected to Spillie getting a permit to operate downtown.

Emphasizing that Spillie “has not been a tattoo artist in a shop,” Zabala said, “He has not put in his time to know how to run a clean, sanitized shop.”

Council members, however, appeared satisfied that Spillie’s studio will be overseen by the Will County Health Department.

Councilwoman Suzanna Ibarra gave an enthusiastic endorsement of Spillie, noting among other things that he plans programs with local high schools.

Michelle Arana, owner of Internode Greenery & Home located in storefront space in the Crystal Building, also spoke in favor of Spillie, a customer at her business.

“He would be an asset to our business community,” Arana told the council.