Results tagged “prostitution”

A lawsuit against Craigslist filed by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has been dismissed by federal Judge John Grady. Dart sued the website for enabling prostitution via their "Erotic Services" section. The website has sent removed that section, combining several categories into one labeled "Adult." Judge Grady's reasoning for the dismissal was that the blame for the prostitution didn't sit with Craigslist but rather the site's users who committed the actual crimes. A spokesman indicated Dart is mulling an appeal of the dismissal.

In an effort to continue his battle against prostitution, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart has added a few former prostitutes to the payroll. The sheriff's office, partnering with the county Department of Women’s Justice Services, performed a pair of prostitution stings earlier this year that led to the arrest of 11 women and two of them accepted Dart's offer. The primary job of the women is to amass information on pimps and other sex traffickers that the sheriff's office can use in their battle against prostitution. [WBBM]

Did anyone really think that getting Craigslist to get rid of its "erotic services" link would cut down prostitution on the internet? The classified-ads-site that became ground zero for Tom Dart's anti-e-whore crusade recently switched from their controversial "erotic services" to the other side of the same coin, "adult services." And guess what - it's accomplished nearly nothing.

It's a sad day to be a voyeur in Chicago. Cook County sheriff Tom Dart will be holding a press conference later today to announce that the department is suing Craigslist for its sex ads, calling it "the largest source of prostitution in the United States." There have been several arrests of people on prostitution charges after posting salacious ads, even in such hotbeds of lust and sin as ... Omaha. Last November, Craigslist agreed to crack down on the practice. They better not touch Missed Connections.

So over here at Chicagoist, we’re constantly online, playing with social media instead of doing household chores. Since we’re so obsessed, we sometimes come across things that make us scratch our collective heads. Such was the case this evening. We searched “Chicago” on Twitter, to add one or two new voices to the constant twittering thrum.

If you plan to make time with a hooker in unincorporated Cook County, there are a few things you should consider first. (If you're capable of thinking about anything besides the bulge in your pants?) The Cook County Board is currently considering a proposal that would impose stricter penalties on anyone attempting to pick up a prostitute. Currently those caught soliciting hookers are given a $100 fine and made to take a two-hour class in order to expunge charges from their record. Apparently this slap on the wrist doesn't deter repeat a offenders, so the new ordinance proposes a $1,000 fine, a vehicle impound and 100 hours of community service. Per Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart:

We told you in Friday’s Extra Extra that the Cook County Sheriff was going to conduct a Craigslist prostitution sting. The results are in: 76 men and women have been arrested for prostitution-related charges.

A new study released today from The Schiller DuCanto & Fleck Family Law Center at DePaul looks at young women and prostitution in Chicago. In a survey of 100 women under 25 currently working in the sex trade under a pimp, researchers found:

Please oh please, scandal gods, let "Client 10" be someone famous and in need of a take-down.

We're calling it a day a little early today--and something tells us you are, too.