Joliet man charged with sex trafficking following undercover investigation
Further investigation revealed that Hardeman recruited the victim into commercial sex work last November.
Watch CBS News
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.
Gurnee police said the woman hit two people with a car before attacking a third victim in what they call "random acts of violence."
Following a historic win at the Grammys, Bad Bunny will take the stage for the Super Bowl LX halftime show.
Lisle police said three suspects dispalyed guns and demanded money before fleeing the scene in a black vehicle.
The Chicago Bulls are sending center Nikola Vučević to the Boston Celtics in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons, and the teams will also swap second-round draft picks as part of the deal.
Cynthia Eason recounted the moment Chicago police officers raided her family's home in 2018.
Hillary Clinton will appear for a deposition on Feb. 26, while former President Bill Clinton will appear on Feb. 27, according to the House Oversight Committee.
The House on Tuesday voted 217 to 214 to fund major parts of the government and end the partial shutdown. Follow live updates.
All federal immigration agents in Minneapolis will begin wearing body cameras, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said Monday, a policy that could be rolled out nationwide.
With U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi giving up his seat in the House to run for the Senate, voters in Illinois' 8th Congressional District face a crowded ballot in the Democratic primary on March 17.
With U.S. Rep. Robin Kelly giving up her seat in the House to run for the Senate, voters in Illinois' 2nd Congressional District face a crowded ballot in the Democratic primary on March 17.
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.
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.
Does the Chicago Bears' dramatic improvement this season, culminating in their first playoff run in five years, change the discussion about where they will build a new stadium?
Chuck Negron, a founding member of Three Dog Night whose lead vocals powered a string of hits for one of the top rock acts of the late 1960s and early '70s has died. He was 83.
Bad Bunny used his Grammy acceptance speech on Sunday to denounce U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and call for the end of the ongoing immigration crackdown.
The 2026 Grammy Awards recognized the best of the best in music from last year, with big wins for Kendrick Lamar and Bad Bunny. Here's the full list of winners and nominees.
Complete closure of the performing arts center in Washington, D.C., will start on July 4, Mr. Trump said. It's not yet clear how extensive the changes to the building might be.
Music's biggest night returned Sunday with the 68th annual Grammy Awards. Here is how to watch and stream and what to know.
Following his historic Grammy win, Chicago's Puerto Rican community is now preparing for his halftime show at Super Bowl LX
Chicago police this week issued an alert warning Honda drivers about an ongoing trend of airbag thefts. Police have responded to at least 20 calls about airbags stolen from Hondas over the past six weeks.
Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon is tracking those lake-effect snow flurries and showers as they may impact the lakeshore communities Tuesday night into Wednesday morning as temperatures fall into the teens for lows.
The grandmother of the family wrongfully raided by Chicago police officers in 2018 broke down in tears, remembering the way she and her grandchildren were treated during the raid on their home.
The fight to get hundreds of people released from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody following their arrests last year in the Chicago area went back before an appellate court on Tuesday.
Courtney Drysdale was shot and killed while opening up the bar she owned near the Illinois-Indiana state line.
A woman was shot to death in an apparent domestic incident in a UI Health parking garage, UIC Police said Tuesday.
Chicago police said three people were shot, two fatally, at White Castle on the Near West Side Tuesday afternoon.
Gurnee police said the woman hit two people with a car before attacking a third victim in what they call "random acts of violence."
Investigators are combing through the house of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, in search of clues to the 84-year-old's disappearance.
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 case involves a Chicago grandmother, her daughter, and her four grandchildren, who all said that Chicago police officers pointed guns at them during the botched raid.
Former Mayor Rahm Emanuel no longer will have to testify about an alleged "code of silence" at the Chicago Police Department, after a federal judge reversed an earlier ruling that would have allowed him to take the stand in a lawsuit over a botched police raid.
John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, the busiest trauma center in Illinois, is sounding an alarm, as doctors brace for an influx of patients because of federal funding cuts under the Trump administration's "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."
The Chicago Bulls are sending center Nikola Vučević to the Boston Celtics in exchange for guard Anfernee Simons, and the teams will also swap second-round draft picks as part of the deal.
Davis was the first player in the program's history to win the Illinois Gatorade Player of the Year.
The Detroit Pistons have agreed to acquire Kevin Huerter from the Chicago Bulls in a four-player, three-team deal, according to two people with knowledge of the trade.
The Northwestern Wildcats won't play in their new $862 million football stadium until their third home game of the 2026 season, when they'll host their Big Ten home opener at the new Ryan Field on Oct. 2.
The Blackhawks played without captain Nick Foligno, who missed his second straight game with a mid-body injury.
A woman was shot to death in an apparent domestic incident in a UI Health parking garage, UIC Police said Tuesday.
A suspect was taken into custody on Tuesday for the deadly shooting of a bar owner, Courtney Drysdale, in Momence, according to the Kane County Sheriff's Office
The man whom Jill Biden divorced for the eventual 46th President of the United States is now in jail on murder charges.
Investigators are combing through the house of "Today" show co-host Savannah Guthrie's mother, Nancy, in search of clues to the 84-year-old's disappearance.
Prosecutors said Sharon Charitine Sackman, 52, gave the counterfeit weight loss drugs to three people in Chicago in 2023.