How Suburban State Rep Got Hotels Joining The Fight Against Human Trafficking

Hotel and motel employees are being enlisted in the fight against human trafficking in Illinois under a new state law authored by a suburban legislator.

Loquaciously called the Lodging Establishment Human Trafficking Recognition Training Act, the law mandates that workers be trained on how to recognize the signs of trafficking and report them to authorities.

That goes for all workers at all hotels — not just the local no-tell motels people might incorrectly believe are the only places where trafficking occurs.

“It goes on in all (hotels),” state Rep. Terra Costa Howard told us this week.

Costa Howard, a freshman Democrat from Glen Ellyn, introduced the bill in February. Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed it into law Aug. 23, and it goes into effect June 1, 2020.

Human trafficking has been at the forefront for Costa Howard since her days as an assistant public defender in DuPage County, when she represented people who might have been trafficking victims.

She said workers might notice little things that make them suspicious, such as one person doing all the talking for a couple or group, or standing in a position that indicates control over another person.

To read the full story by Keeshan and Suan Sarkauska on The Daily Herald: Click Here

Category: Corporate Responsibility, State Government