This report supplements our 2016 study Barriers to Braiding: How Job-Killing Licensing Laws Tangle Natural Hair Care in Needless Red Tape. That study investigated whether (1) braiding licenses keep people out of work and (2) braiding poses risks that justify occupational licensing. This report uses data from Illinois that we intended to include in Barriers to Braiding but were not available at the time. We finally obtained the data—complaints filed regarding Illinois hair braiders—after a four-and-a-half-year freedom-of-information legal battle with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. While severely limited, the data demonstrate that in Illinois, as in the other states studied in Barriers to Braiding, braiding is overwhelmingly safe. It remains true that braiding licenses do little more than prevent people from earning an honest living.
Related Cases

Economic Liberty | Hair Braiding | Occupational Licensing
Three Idaho Women Challenge State’s Requirement for Hair Braiders to Obtain Cosmetology License

Economic Liberty | Private Property
Home day care provider sues city after officials shut her down over complaints from golfers
Bianca King is a single mother with two young children. Until recently, she was able to raise her 2-and 4-year-old kids while making a living running a small day care out of her home. But…

Economic Liberty | Private Property
Mechanic challenges city of Pasadena's mandatory parking minimum
Azael Sepulveda recently purchased a new mechanic shop, but the city of Pasadena will not let him open until he provides 28 parking spaces, which he does not need. Azael has partnered with IJ to…