ABOUT THE COOK COUNTY HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE

The Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force (CCHTTF) is a multi-disciplinary task force that brings law enforcement and social and legal service agencies together to work on human trafficking cases.  The task force is a joint project of the Cook County State's Attorney's Office and the Salvation Army STOP-IT Program, and is jointly funded by the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Office for Victims of Crime.  Although membership on the task force is by invitation only, in order to preserve confidentiality of cases worked, subcommittee participation is open to the community.  Task force subcommittees include: training, victim services, labor trafficking, LGBTQ and healthcare.
 

MISSION

The mission of the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force is to:
  • Combat human trafficking through seamless collaboration between law enforcement and social service providers;
  • Use a victim-centered approach in proactively investigating and prosecuting human trafficking crimes; and
  • Provide comprehensive, high-quality social services to all 
    victims of human trafficking.

VISION

The Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force envisions:
  • A swift and coordinated criminal justice response to human trafficking, in which perpetrators are held accountable and in which the rights of victims of trafficking under Illinois and federal law are protected;
  • A comprehensive network of high-quality services for victims of trafficking that all victims can access as soon as they are identified in the community or by law enforcement; and
  • Systemic collaboration between service providers and law enforcement towards the common goal of combating human trafficking in our community.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

  • All agencies share a commitment to the victim-centered approach, which respects the rights of trafficked persons under Illinois and federal law.
  • All agencies will engage in respectful dialogue.
  • Each agency shall designate at least one point of contact for the task force.


Victims of human trafficking are protected under United States and Illinois law. 

To report a tip, or get help, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at

1-888-373-7888
Recent Events:
National Human Trafficking Awareness Month 2021
Members of each subcommittee of the Task Force worked hard to create educational content about human trafficking related to their different areas of experience and expertise. You can find all of the posts here. 
The Cook County Enhanced Collaborative Model to Combat Human Trafficking Task Force is co-led by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois, and The Salvation Army Trafficking Outreach Program and Intervention Techniques (STOP-IT). By bringing together various law enforcement and nongovernmental agencies, the Task Force works to identify and combat human trafficking in Cook County and the surrounding areas.