Co-led by the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office (LCSAO) and A Safe Place (ASP), the Task Force is a collaborative effort between prosecutors, police, and community-based social service providers to support survivors, to increase community awareness, and to hold traffickers criminally responsible through aggressive prosecutions. Within the State’s Attorney’s Office, the grant funds are used for a prosecutor, an investigator, and a task force coordinator.  

Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart commented after the renewal, “The Department of Justice and its subject-matter experts recognize the work we are doing in Lake County, and our office greatly appreciates their confidence as shown by this renewal.” 

Prior to the formation of the Task Force in 2022, A Safe Place identified dozens of survivors of human trafficking, yet there were no active investigations or charged cases in Lake County in 2020 or 2021. Currently, the task force is investigating over 20 cases, and there are five pending cases against defendants in Lake County courts. The Department of Justice National Incident Based Reporting System showed that only 30 sex trafficking cases and 17 labor trafficking cases were formally reported to Illinois law enforcement between 2021 and 2023. 

Rinehart added, “The data shows that trafficking is a vastly under-reported crime, and that it is one of the reasons why it so dangerous. Such exploitation of the individual is one of the most damaging and calculated crimes in our system. These renewed grant funds give us the resources we need to conduct these intensive investigations and to build prosecutions in complex cases.  Make no mistake, traffickers in Lake County will be investigated and incarcerated for these crimes that exploit others.” 

Chief Executive Office of A Safe Place Pat Davenport stated, “A Safe Place continues to experience the needs of survivors that come through our doors and the collaboration with the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office is critical to our delivery of our services. Without them, the funding would not have become A REALITY which is so much needed to provide services.” 

The LCSAO plays a vital role in the Task Force by conducting proactive investigations and pursuing the prosecution of individuals involved in sex and labor trafficking. The prosecutors’ work, combined with A Safe Place’s victim-centered approach, ensures that survivors receive the comprehensive support they need to regain control of their lives while ensuring successful prosecutions.