CHICAGO, Illinois-- Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner signed two new bills into law, aiming to fight human trafficking, Sunday, August 21 at the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center.
The legislation creates a task force composed of lawmakers, members of the Chicago Regional Human Trafficking Task force and the Director of Illinois State Police, to figure out the best way to combat human trafficking in the state.
The other piece of legislation provides victims with language barriers, emotional challenges and economic hardships, with medical benefits in quicker amount of time.
As of June 2016, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center recorded 94 human trafficking cases in Illinois. Last year 122 cases were reported.
Cathy O'Keeffe, Executive Director of Braking Traffik, a group working to end sex trafficking in the Quad Cities, says the new legislation is a positive move forward to end sex trafficking.
" Fighting human trafficking has to be multidisciplinary. There's not just one group that can do it, we need law enforcement, we need legislators, we need our servicing providers..." she says.
The state's task force is expected to submit a report on its findings and recommendations to the governor and General Assembly by June 30, 2017.