MINOOKA — Residents' concerns about massage parlors and alleged seedy practices spurred Minooka village officials to hold a forum on sex trafficking.
The community room at Minooka's Village Hall was mostly full Thursday night with representatives from social media group Minooka Moms, concerned residents and parents, and local clergy.
Speakers included Tiffany Davison with the Grundy County State's Attorney's office; Groundwork/Guardian Angel Home Sexual Assault Service Center Preventionist Ashton Borden; Northern Illinois Women of the Evangelical Church's social justice chair Joan Soltwisch; Chris Baker, founder and ministry director of Ink 180, an organization which provides free tattoo removal to sex traffic victims and former gang members; village counsel Mike Stiff of Spesia & Ayers; Minooka Police Chief Justin Meyer; and Village Administrator Dan Duffy.
Minooka Mayor Pat Brennan and Trustee Dick Parrish were also in attendance.
The purpose of the forum, Duffy said, was to inform the public about the village's limits in legal matters concerning massage parlors; what government agencies are able to take further action; and provide in-depth information about sex trafficking, its victims and the possibility of its existence in Minooka.
The problem was first brought to light about two years ago when residents complained about alleged prostitution activity at the BB Spa on Ridge Road and Mondamin Street, Duffy said.
While the village issues business registrations, the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation that has the authority to license and regulate massage therapy businesses. Other types of businesses, from bars to barber shops, are licensed by the village.
Minooka police can only ask to see the businesses' license but don't have the authority to go into locked rooms to see if there are other employees and if they hold licenses to perform massage.
"The state has exclusive jurisdiction," said Stiff. "All we can do is register them and it doesn't have a lot of teeth for violations."
Minooka Police held an undercover investigation into BB Spa, said Meyer, but came up with nothing. They did find a connection between a massage parlor shut down in Morris and BB Spa in Minooka – both had the same Chicago attorney.
Working with the state, Minooka police closed BB Spa on a technicality. But not long afterward Moon Spa opened in its place under a new license. Officials sought the help of the property's landlord and together put enough pressure on the business to close.
"We had to think outside the box to make things happen," Duffy said.
Minooka has three businesses that offer massage therapy services, two of which have been deemed legitimate. The third, Wa Spa, on Ridge Road, is being investigation.
Soltwisch, Baker, and Borden talked extensively about human trafficking which feeds businesses their employees, such as some massage parlors, certain nail salons and even hotel workers, according to Baker.
Young women, particularly from Asia, are promised an education and a better life in the U.S., Baker said. When they arrive their identification and passports are taken. They are required to "work off" their debt of coming to America, which never happens.
On any given day, more than 16,000 young girls and women are trafficked in Chicago, Soltwisch said, mainly because of two major airports and accessibility to interstates.
Soltwisch called for the community to be victim-centered and understand these women are victims. When one massage parlor is closed down, another opens in a nearby town with the same victims.
Human trafficking is becoming the nation's No. 1 problem, over drugs and gangs, Baker said.
"It's the biggest elephant in the room that no one wants to believe is in their community," he said.
One parent commented that the audience was likely feeling depressed over the information they received. Another said while she feels compassion for the victims, the businesses are victimizing the community.
Many services are in place to help victims of sex trafficking, said Borden, but getting to them is not an easy task.
Duffy said he hopes to work closely with neighboring towns on the issue of the massage parlors.
"[The forum] moved in a positive manner and that's our goal, to make sure our community is safe," Duffy said. "We need to make sure [the businesses] are legitimate and, if not, get them out of the community."