Chicago police, attorneys and other law enforcement officials attend a training session Wednesday at Chicago Police Department headquarters designed to teach investigators how to be more alert to signs of human trafficking. Because Chicago is a hub for tourism and conventions, it is considered a main area for human trafficking in the U.S. by the FBI, officials said. (José M. Osorio, Chicago Tribune / February 22, 2012)

A 2010 Illinois law that defined underage prostitutes as victims instead of criminals has spurred Chicago police to be more alert to signs of human trafficking, which experts say is second only to the drug trade as the biggest illegal business in the nation.
And because Chicago is a hub for tourism and conventions, it is considered a main area for human trafficking in the U.S. by the FBI, officials said Wednesday during a seminar for police.
Investigators learned to be alert for bruises, anxious and submissive behavior, and words like "daddy," slang for pimp. Officials say those clues might help identify victims of human trafficking.
In addition to new and strengthened laws, awareness of the problem is growing. Wednesday's training on prostitution and forced labor, at Chicago Police Department headquarters, was attended by about 300 law enforcement officials.
"Many people associate human trafficking with other countries," said Jennifer Greene, policy adviser at the Cook County state's attorney's office. "But it happens here in Chicago all the time."
The victims include children as well as adult women and men, often affected by psychological issues or factors like low income and homelessness. Those factors make them vulnerable to people who recruit them on the street or via the Internet, officials say.
"In our society, prostitution is often viewed as the oldest profession and as a choice," said Elyse Dalberg, volunteer manager at Salvation Army Trafficking Outreach Program and Intervention Techniques. "But they're not just prostitutes, they're victims."
The International Labor Organization estimates that at least 12.3 million adults and children worldwide are in forced labor, bonded labor and prostitution at any given time. But officials say it's hard to determine how many people are affected by human trafficking in Illinois or Chicago, because it's "very much still underground," Greene said.
A 2007 University of Chicago study estimated that about 4,400 prostitutes were active in Chicago in an average week. Another study, by the Center for Impact Research in 2001, said at least 16,000 women and girls were involved in prostitution in Chicago in any given year.
The 2010 Illinois Safe Children Act decriminalized the underage victims of prostitution, legalized the use of court-ordered wiretaps in human trafficking cases, and imposed harsher penalties for pimps and clients.
The Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force, set up in 2011 and made up of law enforcement and nonprofit organizations, also aims to identify and combat human trafficking, provide social services to victims and train police, Greene said.
Since 2009, 52 defendants in Cook County have been convicted on human trafficking or related charges, Greene said.
"And we're just scratching the surface," she said.

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achachkevitch@tribune.com