A bill currently awaiting Governor J. Critics say a licensing exemption for Asian bodywork parlors has allowed some human traffickers to slip under the radar by masquerading as legitimate businesses. Carol Merna is the executive director of the Center for Prevention of Abuse.
She said the Center first worked to get an ordinance tackling the licensing loophole passed in Peoria last year. The Center's board then made the decision to take the effort statewide. We talked about what human trafficking is, we talked about what we were doing, what we were seeing, who we were seeing. But then we made sure to talk about this exemption. State Rep. Under the proposed bill, all massage therapists or businesses operating without a license issued by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation would be subject to penalties.
Since the Center opened its Human Trafficking Service division in January , they have helped more than 50 victims of sex or labor trafficking in Central Illinois.
The victims range from ages 11 to The bill was co-sponsored with state Rep. Jil Tracy R-Quincy in the Senate. If you want to report suspected human trafficking or need help yourself, you can call the Center for Prevention of Abuse at or click here to visit their website.
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