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Inmates leaving gangs, stripping tats for jobs, better lives

DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, center, talks with inmates Erik Eck, left, Jay, right and Joe, who are participating in the jail's gang-cessation and jobs program, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. The program offers free gang-related tattoo covering or removal and includes classes on horticulture, welding and other trades. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Connie Kollmeyer, with the College of DuPage, gives inmates at the DuPage County Jail a horticulture lesson as part of the jail's new, novel gang-cessation and jobs program, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. Along with horticulture, the jail offers classes in welding and other trades. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Pigment rises to the surface of the skin as tattoo artist Meagan Begley begins the tattoo removal process with a detainee at the DuPage County Jail, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Tattoo artist Tom Begley of the "Electric Tattoo Parlor" in Carpentersville, Ill., works on a tattoo for Jaime Marinez to cover a bullet hole scar that depicts a clock with the date and time of Marinez's father's death, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Brett, left, a detainee at the DuPage County Jail, watches and learns as tattoo artist Tom Begley works on a tattoo for Jaime Marinez to cover a bullet hole scar that depicts the date and time of Marinez's father's death, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Brett, left, a detainee at the DuPage County Jail, watches and learns as tattoo artist Tom Begley works on a tattoo for Jaime Marinez to cover a bullet hole scar that depicts the date and time of Marinez's father's death, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Tattoo artist Tom Begley of the "Electric Tattoo Parlor" in Carpentersville, Ill., pulls back a stencil of a tattoo for Jaime Marinez to cover a bullet hole scar that depicts the date and time of Marinez's father's death, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Jaime Marinez, once a member of the Satan Disciples gang, shows a tattoo by artist Tom Begley placed over a bullet hole scar of a clock that marks the date and time Marinez's father died, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. Tattoos on Marinez's hands also cover former gang symbol tattoos. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Jaime Marinez, once a member of the Satan Disciples gang, shows a bullet hole scar that will be covered by tattoo artist Tom Begley with a clock that marks the date and time Marinez's father died, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. Tattoos on Marinez's hands also cover former gang symbol tattoos. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Gilberto watches and waits his turn, as Jamie prepares to have a bullet scar hidden with a tattoo at the DuPage County Jail, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. To get the jail's backing in their job hunts, participants must graduate. And to graduate, they must have their gang tattoos removed or covered with non-gang tattoos. It's proof they're serious about forsaking their old lives and aren't merely pining for leniency from their jailers or judges, said DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick sits for a portrait in a cell block that houses 12 participants in the in county jail's new, novel gang-cessation and jobs program, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. The 12 inmates in the program aren't promised jobs or reduced sentences. But if they graduate, the sheriff writes a letter touting their participation. Help is also offered to relocate them away from their gangs. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick stands for a portrait in his office at the county jail, Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. Mendrick partners with Michael Beary, civilian director and chief architect, who oversees the jail's new, novel gang-cessation and jobs program. The inmates aren't promised jobs or reduced sentences. But if they graduate, the sheriff writes a letter touting their participation. Help is also offered to relocate them away from their gangs. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Michael Beary, background center, civilian director and chief architect of the DuPage County Jail's new gang-cessation and jobs program, and inmate Brett, left, watch as tattoo artist Tom Begley covers over a bullet wound scar on the chest of Jaime Marinez with a clock that marks the date and time Marinez's father died, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. With growing interest in ex-cons as workers by businesses scrambling to address COVID-related labor shortages, one objective is to land participating inmates good jobs upon release, said Beary, the program's civilian director and chief architect. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) In this photo provided by the DuPage County Sheriff's Office, Erik Eck, a former member of the Latin Kings gang stands in the doorway of his cell at the DuPage County, Ill., Jail displaying a new tattoo covering his former Latin Kings tattoo, Monday, Feb. 21, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. Under penalty of a beating or death, Eck pledged when he joined the Latin Kings in Chicago at 13 to adhere to the gang's first rule: "Once a King, always a King." Tattoos on his entire body express fealty forever to the gang, one of the nation's largest. (DuPage County Sheriff's Office via AP) Erik Eck, a former member of the Latin Kings gang stands in the doorway of his cell at the DuPage County, Ill., Jail displaying the main tattoo that symbolizes his status with the gang, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. Under penalty of a beating or death, Eck pledged when he joined the Latin Kings in Chicago at 13 to adhere to the gang's first rule: "Once a King, always a King." Tattoos that cover his entire body express fealty forever to the gang, one of the nation's largest. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast) Erik Eck, a former member of the Latin Kings gang stands in the doorway of his cell at the DuPage County, Ill., Jail displaying tattoos that symbolize his status with the gang, Thursday, Feb. 3, 2022, in Wheaton, Ill. Under penalty of a beating or death, Eck pledged when he joined the Latin Kings in Chicago at 13 to adhere to the gang's first rule: "Once a King, always a King." Tattoos that cover his entire body express fealty forever to the gang, one of the nation's largest. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)