United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 22-2342 THOMAS WALKER, Plaintiff-Appellant, v. JOHN BALDWIN, et al., Defendants-Appellees. ____________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Western Division. No. 19-cv-50233 — Iain D. Johnston, Judge. ____________________

ARGUED MAY 19, 2023 — DECIDED JULY 26, 2023 ____________________

Before FLAUM, ROVNER, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges. ST. EVE, Circuit Judge. Thomas Walker, a Rastafarian whose religious beliefs prohibit him from cutting his hair, was an Il- linois state prisoner at Dixon Correctional Center when prison officials forced him to remove his dreadlocks. He sued the prison officials, the prison warden, and the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections (“IDOC”), alleging that the defendants violated his rights under the First Amendment Free Exercise Clause and th