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.
Kevin Jackson was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 22 years in prison before he was freed. Now he has realized his dream by starting a landscaping business. But his quest to be declared innocent continues.
Police in Lake Geneva say an experienced boat operator was overcome by at least two massive waves, causing the boat to capsize.
Sam Antonacci had three of Chicago's four hits.
Matthew Boyd pitched six shutout innings, Alex Bregman drove in two runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 Tuesday night.
Chicago police said the victim, a 57-year-old man identified by family as Kevin Barlow, was shot in the chest outside the CTA 98th Street rail maintenance facility on June 29.
A key Chicago City Council committee has joined the growing chorus calling for U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros to resign.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday that the city is falling short of its revenue predictions for 2026.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has over the past two days attacked three commercial vessels that were traveling through the Strait of Hormuz.
The top Republicans in the Senate spoke with the Kentucky Republican by phone this week, according to their spokespeople.
Rahm Emanuel is viewed as a potential Democratic presidential candidate and has been a longtime defender of Israel.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul this week warned residents cleaning up from last month's storms to be on the lookout for scams.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday signed several new consumer protections into law, including a ban on junk fees.
CBS News Chicago has learned that Illinois home insurance premiums are not only higher than the nation's average, but going up faster too.
As an alternative to legalizing video gambling terminals citywide, Bally's offered to open slot machine lounges at O'Hare and Midway, saying the move would replace the $6.8 million the city budgeted from VGTs.
An Illinois law banning "swipe fees" on taxes and tips — already delayed twice by lawmakers — appears to be on life support after a federal judge that once permitted it issued a permanent injunction against it this week.
In a major turnaround in the opioid crisis, overdose deaths are falling across Chicago and Cook County.
The north Chicago suburb of Glenview became the latest Illinois municipality this week to confirm mosquitoes testing positive for the West Nile virus this year.
Environmental and community groups are suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to act on a petition challenging U.S. Steel Gary Works operating permit renewal.
In the four years since Roe v. Wade was overturned and Illinois became a destination for abortion care, Illinois providers and advocates have rebuilt the state's infrastructure to support the tens of thousands of people who travel to the state for abortion services every year.
June is National Aphasia Awareness Month, raising awareness of a disorder that affects a person's ability to speak, write, and understand both spoken and written language.
Chicago Soul Café opened Monday at 6248 S. St. Lawrence Ave.
The Chicago Bears this weekend said they are assessing land at Wolf Lake Terminals in Hammond, Indiana, for a possible new stadium.
As an alternative to legalizing video gambling terminals citywide, Bally's offered to open slot machine lounges at O'Hare and Midway, saying the move would replace the $6.8 million the city budgeted from VGTs.
Daley's Restaurant, known as Chicago's oldest, has served Chicago's Woodlawn neighborhood for more than 130 years.
Walgreens is set to close in Chicago's Chatham neighborhood on Thursday, and there's growing concern about where families will get their medications.
Nikki Glaser, Michelle Wolf, Ali Siddiq and Bert Kreischer are among the comedians coming to the city to perform from Nov. 5 to Nov. 15.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce were married as they celebrated their wedding with hundreds of guests Friday at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Renowned singer-songwriter and Chicago-area native John Prine will be honored with a mural at the Old Town School of Folk Music in the Lincoln Square community.
Victor Willis, lead singer of the disco group Village People, whose hit "Y.M.C.A." became a fixture at rallies for President Trump, has died at the age of 74, his wife and the band said.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding plans include a rehearsal dinner and a late-night celebration at Madison Square Garden in New York City, according to sources familiar with the security planning.
Nearly seven million customers of 23andMe had their personal information exposed. The company initially paid nearly $15 million and later filed for bankruptcy.
The Illinois Department of Public Health reported 141 cases of cyclosporiasis, including 59 acquired domestically and 62 reported after travel outside the U.S. At least 17 other states have also reported outbreaks.
Highs on Wednesday will run in the upper 80s to near 90 degrees. Chief Meteorologist Albert Ramon is tracking the latest in First Alert Weather.
Kevin Jackson walked out of prison in early 2025 after spending two decades fighting to prove his innocence. He’s started a landscaping business and wants to expand and hire a team, but worries that something as simple as a background check could block his plans.
The bodies of three kids—ages 10, 7 and 6—were recovered inside the cabin of a sunken boat. Seven others on board survived. All at the time were wearing life vests, according to police.
Kevin Jackson was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 22 years in prison before he was freed. Now he has realized his dream by starting a landscaping business. But his quest to be declared innocent continues.
The suit alleges the home did not properly supervise Emily Kasanga during meal time, leading to her death.
Chicago police said the victim, a 57-year-old man identified by family as Kevin Barlow, was shot in the chest outside the CTA 98th Street rail maintenance facility on June 29.
Police in Lake Geneva say an experienced boat operator was overcome by at least two massive waves, causing the boat to capsize.
The Illinois Department of Public Health is reporting a "higher-than-average" number of cyclosporiasis cases in the state amid outbreaks in other states nationwide.
Kevin Jackson was wrongfully convicted of murder and spent 22 years in prison before he was freed. Now he has realized his dream by starting a landscaping business. But his quest to be declared innocent continues.
The weeds keep growing, and the complaints keep piling up, but neighbors on one street in the Washington Heights community on Chicago's South Side say nothing is changing.
City officials unveil underground stormwater storage units to reduce flooding on the West Side
Crown Point Mayor Peter Land says that flooding has been an issue for years and that the construction plan has been in the works for almost 10 years.
About 13,000 people were treated in emergency rooms for fireworks-related injuries in 2025, and with America's 250 birthday celebration about to start, doctors worry even more people could get hurt this year.
Sam Antonacci had three of Chicago's four hits.
Matthew Boyd pitched six shutout innings, Alex Bregman drove in two runs and the Chicago Cubs beat the Baltimore Orioles 5-2 Tuesday night.
The digital billboard teases Bears football games and other advertisements.
Fans saw the team's chances of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years crushed on Monday night in their knockout match against Belgium.
Belgium defeated the U.S. Men's National Team 4-1 on Monday night in the World Cup round of 16 knockout match in Seattle, ending the Americans' hopes of reaching the quarterfinals for the first time in 24 years.
Two people were shot, and one of them died, in an apartment in the north Chicago suburb of Mundelein on Tuesday morning.
Mexico said it is investigating whether its sovereignty was violated by the United States in the 2024 capture of drug lord Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada.
A man has been arrested and charged in a shooting that left another man dead last fall in Chicago's Auburn Gresham community.
Delphine Jubillar went missing in southern France in December 2020 at the height of the COVID pandemic and her body was never found.
Lake County, Illinois, sheriff's deputies and a K9 were credited with stopping a burglary in progress Sunday night.
