Joliet man charged with sex trafficking following undercover investigation
Further investigation revealed that Hardeman recruited the victim into commercial sex work last November.
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Further investigation revealed that Hardeman recruited the victim into commercial sex work last November.
Some state lawmakers are proposing legislation that would eliminate criminal penalties for adults involved in consensual sex work.
It was not clear late Friday whether any arrests had been made.
Neighbors say much of the illegal activity is spilling into the alleyways - which are right behind their homes.
We have covered the issue in the Southwest Side neighborhood before, and now, neighbors say it is more rampant than ever. CBS 2's Marybel Gonzalez reports.
There are disturbing details and arrests following a months-long investigation into human trafficking, and the victims are all women from South America.
Brendan Kennedy-Gasior, 37, is facing felony charges of promoting prostitution.
Brendan Kennedy-Gasior, 37, is facing felony charges of promoting prostitution.
Sex trafficking is a complicated problem that for many reasons is difficult for law enforcement to address and enforce.
Sex trafficking is a complicated problem that for many reasons is difficult for law enforcement to address and enforce. But as CBS 2's Joe Donlon found as he rode along for a sting operation earlier this summer, those challenges are not stopping efforts to fight trafficking.
Residents say they have reported it to police and the alderman, but the problem keeps getting worse.
The residents say they have reported it to police and the alderman, but the problem keeps getting worse. CBS 2's Marybel González reports.
"He requested an attorney," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Wednesday. "Well judge, you need an attorney. You got problems."
A West Rogers Park building has been torn down after authorities conducted a raid there this week.
The FBI on Wednesday was asking for help in finding potential victims and information about two truck drivers – one of them from Chicago – who are accused of kidnapping women and demanding ransom for their release.
A man stood charged Saturday with running a prostitution operation out of his Bridgeport neighborhood apartment.
Under Florida law, most evidence is made public when given to defendants. That hasn't happened yet with the videos, and lawyers for Kraft and the other men want to pre-empt it, arguing that evidence shouldn't be made public until the investigation is complete, if ever.
According to police records, Kraft was chauffeured to the massage parlor in a 2014 white Bentley on the evening of Jan. 19, where officers say they secretly videotaped him engaging in a sex act and then handing over an undetermined amount of cash.
A massage parlor in south suburban Orland Park has been shut down and a masseuse is charged with prostitution after she allegedly offered to perform a sex act on an undercover officer in exchange for money, according to police.
Luis Zacarias-Ahumada, 39, was charged Friday with two counts of promoting prostitution.
Four men were arrested for soliciting a prostitute along the state line between Calumet City and Hammond, police say.
Investigators appear to be interested in her ties to longtime Donald Trump adviser Roger Stone, whom she has known for a decade.
The federal government sealed the website known for selling sex.
A Chicago man was promised a finder's fee of a couple hundred dollars to recruit a teenage girl to work as a prostitute.
Some 2,500 sex buyers thought they were chatting with prostitutes Ariel, Brook or Cari. But these were really software programs.
Retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's seat is so attractive that three of Illinois' most well-known elected officials are giving up their current spots in the House of Representatives to run for it.
The Chicago Park District welcomed disabled veterans to McKinley Park on Wednesday for the Windy City Winter Sports Clinic.
Metra commuters could face significant delays during the Wednesday evening rush due to a systemwide positive train control issue.
The trip to Arizona came quickly for the boys in blue following their October return to the postseason.
The program pairs 11th and 12th-grade students with dedicated mentors who help students navigate what comes after high school.
Retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's seat is so attractive that three of Illinois' most well-known elected officials are giving up their current spots in the House of Representatives to run for it.
The City Council Finance Committee voted down a recommendation from city attorneys to pay a $8.25 million settlement in a high-speed police chase that led to the death of an innocent woman in a car crash in the Little Village neighborhood.
While three Democrats will be running for Congress in Illinois' 4th District in 2026, primary voters will see only one of those candidates on the ballot in March, as the other two will be running as independents.
Don Tracy, a former chairman of the Illinois Republican Party, is among six Republicans running for U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's seat as he prepares to retire at the end of his term.
The Trump administration is trying to supercharge the race to dominate artificial intelligence by fast-tracking federal permits for data centers, but some local homeowners are raising concerns.
This week marks Identity Theft Awareness Week, and Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza emphasized some safety tips Monday for avoiding and dealing with identity theft.
A controversial data center in Naperville, Illinois, could be the cause to pack a city council meeting there on Tuesday night.
Police in the west Chicago suburb of Geneva are warning of a scam involving spoofed phone numbers.
Protesters on Tuesday were cranking up the heat on Peoples Gas over a recently proposed rate hike that would add an additional $10 to $11 a month to utility bills.
A lawsuit filed late last month took Chicago-based McDonald's to task over the McRib sandwich, calling its name a form of false advertising.
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital announced this week that it is planning to open a new pediatric hospital in the west Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.
It has been nearly six years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and one of the many questions doctors are still working to answer concerns the long-term effects.
Leaders from Cook County, the Illinois Department of Human Services, and the Greater Chicago Food Depository denounced changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on Wednesday.
The University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center has received a grant from The Ralph Lauren Corporate Foundation for a new cancer center.
Chicago's Lurie Children's Hospital said Tuesday that it is no longer initiating gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.
A Near West Side diner known for drawing in Blackhawks fans and players is up for sale.
January may be the coldest time of the year, but Chicago is already looking forward to summer farmers' markets.
A development proposal issued this month calls for the replacement of a building housing a Giordiano's pizzeria in Chicago's Lakeview neighborhood with a new mixed-use building with 28 residential units.
United Airlines flight attendants picketed outside Chicago's Willis Tower Thursday morning as they fought for a new contract.
WSCR-AM, 670 The Score, will begin a simulcast on 104.3 FM next month.
"Dawson's Creek" and "Varsity Blues" star James Van Der Beek has died at 48 years old.
The 31-year-old Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny took the stage on Sunday dressed in all white, donning a jersey with his last name, Ocasio, and the number 64.
Brad Arnold, the founder and lead singer of the 3 Doors Down has died following "his courageous battle with cancer," the rock band announced Saturday on social media.
Bad Bunny took the stage at halftime for the 2026 Super Bowl. Here's who else performed at Super Bowl 60.
Gamers across the world can now recreate drone strikes in Ukraine from the comfort of their own home, with this newly released game.
Retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's seat is so attractive that three of Illinois' most well-known elected officials are giving up their current spots in the House of Representatives to run for it. CBS News Chicago Political Reporter Chris Tye is taking a closer look at the top candidates in a crowded race, including Lt. Gov. Julianna Stratton, who was the first Democrat to enter the race after Durbin announced last year that he would not run for re-election.
Metra commuters could face significant delays during the Wednesday evening rush due to a systemwide positive train control issue.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent who shot a Chicago woman five times last fall has been placed on administrative leave, as video footage and other evidence from the incident provide new insight on what happened the moments before and after Marimar Martinez was shot.
Partly cloudy Wednesday night with lows dipping into the 20s.
It could take several days for a Chicago Ridge freight train derailment to get cleaned up and for Metra to start running trains on the Southwest Service line again.
Among new evidence released in the shooting of a Chicago woman by a Border Patrol agent are joking texts and praise from Gregory Bovino.
The derailment caused damage that could take days to repair, and could see Southwest Service line trains not running for a significant period.
A fatal shooting during a North Side carjacking may be connected to another fatal shooting a short time later in Bronzeville.
Retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's seat is so attractive that three of Illinois' most well-known elected officials are giving up their current spots in the House of Representatives to run for it.
A couple of regulars at Club Lucky in Wicker Park left a massive $4,000 tip, sharing the love in the week before Valentine's Day.
CBS News Chicago is tracking what led to the death of an 8-year-old boy in Round Lake Beach and whether state officials were aware of any red flags before his murder.
This is due in part to the new "Big Beautiful Bill" and job cuts at the Internal Revenue Service.
Fewer Chicago kids are getting the dental care they need, and some dentists are blaming Chicago Public Schools.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Water bills could be going up in several Chicago suburbs and other parts of Illinois, as Illinois American Water seeks a rate increase to fund infrastructure improvements.
The trip to Arizona came quickly for the boys in blue following their October return to the postseason.
Portage, Indiana, joins Gary and Arlington Heights with development proposals for a new Bears stadium.
The Norman Rockwell painting "The Dugout," now hanging at the Art Institute of Chicago, is a longstanding symbol of the Chicago Cubs' reputation as lovable losers — which for some fans had its own appeal.
The city recently made its pitch video to the Bears, calling it "Halas Harbor."
The White Sox and Cubs are opening up camp in the desert, with both teams feeling good about more than the warmer weather.
A man was sentenced to two consecutive terms of life in prison Wednesday for the murders of two men in an attempted robbery Chicago's Chinatown six years ago.
A Chicago man has been charged with robbing and beating a CTA passenger on board a Red Line train last fall.
A man was shot and killed early Wednesday during a carjacking in Chicago's Northalsted district, and the car that was stolen might have been used in a deadly shooting a short time later in Bronzeville.
Police said the suspected shooter, an 18-year-old resident of the community where the school is located, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
FBI Director Kash Patel posted videos of a person outside the home of Nancy Guthrie, the mother of Savannah Guthrie, on the morning of her disappearance.
