Hotels, Leaders Show Support For Human Trafficking Prevention Training

CHICAGO (CBS)-- Chicago is getting ready to host one of the biggest games in basketball, the 2020 NBA All-Star game.

But experts say big events like this, typically lead to a spike in human trafficking.

Hotels in the area will be packed with visitors, which is why hotel works are being trained to spot human trafficking.

A day-long event for Illinois hotel employees kicked off Friday with many state leaders, including Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

The event was about preparing hotel employees to spot signs of human trafficking and also understand what to do with that information.

Whether it be call the police or approach a potential victim and ask the necessary questions.

"For us to address human trafficking in its totality, it means we must address the conditions that make people vulnerable and subject to trafficking and that fundamentally boils down to poverty," Mayor Lori Lightfoot said.

And the mayor says one way of doing that is by her goal of increasing minimum wage in Chicago to $15 by 2021.