Lake County Gazette

State Rep. Chris Bos (R-Lake Zurich) has filed a series of bills aimed at strengthening protections for victims of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.

“It’s hard to imagine, but everyday children and other vulnerable people become victims of sexual exploitation and human trafficking, even in communities we see as safe,” Bos said in a news release. “The abusers who profit off these crimes are constantly evolving their tactics and we have to be as committed as they are to improving our policies that protect victims and keep abusers off the streets.”

Bos, who worked at a non-profit to support child victims of sexual exploitation prior to arriving in Springfield, continues to make the issue one of his signature causes.

“There is no silver bullet to stop sexual abusers and traffickers, but these new pieces of legislation specifically target the tactics and tricks they use to coerce new victims,” said Bos. “If we can make it harder for the predators to escape justice, we make it less lucrative and ensure fewer children and vulnerable people become victims.”

House Bill 4592 increases penalties for human traffickers and abusers found to target children, particularly those in vulnerable settings such as shelters and foster care. It also increases penalties for repeat offenders who target those with intellectual disabilities, while House Bill 4593 prevents sexual predators from claiming they did not know the person they solicited for sex was underage or suffered from an intellectual disability.

House Bill 4407 mandates that those convicted of “involuntary sexual servitude of a minor” register as a sex offender and House Bill 4402 creates the Human Trafficking Order of Protection Act, which establishes “the same protection status to human trafficking victims that those of other forms of abuse can access.”

In 2021, Bos also co-sponsored Senate Bill 4593, which Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed into law, enabling victims to “protect their privacy by adding human trafficking to the Address Confidentiality for Victims of Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault, Human Trafficking, or Stalking Act.”

According to the U.S. State Department, the U.S. designated January as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month in 2010, raising awareness about human trafficking around the world and seeking to educate the general public about how to identify and prevent this crime.

The State Department's website said that currently there are an estimated 24.9 million people subjected to human trafficking around the world, with perpetrators often preying on individuals stuck in unstable or chaotic situations.