Massage parlors will have to register with Springfield following vote - The State Journal-Register

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The full Springfield City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Tuesday requiring massage parlors to register with the city, but not before it was moved from the consent agenda to the debate agenda to allow public comment.

The ordinance, crafted after one adopted by the Village of Chatham several years ago, also mandates proof of State of Illinois licensure of the parlor's massage therapists.

"This is ultimately to make everyone safer: people who do massages, people who go in for massages and the neighborhoods where the massage establishments exist," insisted Ald. Jennifer Notariano, who has a number of the parlors in her inner-city Ward 6.

More:Massage parlor ordinance going to full vote in Springfield amid human trafficking concerns

City council members professed concerns about the suspicion of human trafficking and prostitution when Springfield Police raided two massage parlors in the 500 block of South Grand Avenue West in April, acting on Crimestoppers' tips and information from neighbors in the area.

Springfield Police also worked in concert with the FBI in another instance earlier this year.

City attorney Gregory Moredock, who was then with a private law firm in Springfield when he helped write massage parlor ordinance for Chatham, said fines could range from $250 to $750 per violation per day for parlors operating without a license.

Additionally, the city would have the ability to prohibit the occupancy of any building being used in violation of ordinance, Moredock said.

David Baker, who lives in Hawthorne Place near where the massage parlors were raided, said he believed the ordinance was a first step in shutting down the illegitimate establishments.


"But I would also urge the young women who are trapped working in the parlors to receive help," Baker said. "They are victims."

Baker, in the public comment section, said his own daughter was a victim of sexual trafficking as a teenager in Springfield, but cooperated with investigating authorities to help put her trafficker in prison.


Mike Otken, also speaking during the public comment section, said the city was trying to run people out of business.

Otken said he was married to a massage therapist from China.

"I find it disgusting that everybody wants to say that they're all doing something bad," he said. "I have two nieces who are working here (in the business). They've never had a problem in nine years."

Acknowledging that there are professional parlors that provide needed services, Ward 8 Ald. Erin Conley insisted the ordinance wasn't "taking a swing at anyone of any nationality.

"We don't mention nationality. This is not gender specific. It is industry specific. We had a federal investigation in this community that did uncover a significant amount of crime going on in our community and this is our response to that."

Notoriano said while some parlor owners may end moving to the county or other jurisdictions, having the registration provides a safety net for the city.

"It would be an absolute nightmare and I don't know how any of us could sleep at night knowing that there are young women being forced into providing sex in order to make money for someone else," Notariano said. "We certainly do not want that happening in the city of Springfield."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; [email protected]; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

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