Garfield Ridge residents say Cicero Avenue prostitution has crossed into their alleys, backyards

CHICAGO (CBS) — Residents of the city’s Southwest Side near Midway International Airport are up in arms because of what they call an increase in sex trafficking.

The say they have reported it to police and the alderman, but the problem keeps getting worse.

“The girls are half-naked in the middle of Cicero Avenue,” one woman said. “Doesn’t anybody care?”  

As CBS 2’s Marybel González reported Thursday night, the residents say sex workers and solicitors are seen walking up and down Cicero Avenue – and are even spilling into their alleys in neighborhoods. They say they have seen such activity happening literally in their backyards.

In neighborhood alleys just feet from homes, evidence of the activity was visible on the ground in the form of used contraceptives.

“Our neighbors don’t want to come out,” the woman said. “I don’t blame them.”

The residents say they are worried about the crime that comes with such activity.

“My grandkids come and play, and they find syringes,” said Marcelo Pesantes. “They find condoms in the street.”

The neighbors are calling on police and local leaders to take action.

“We live here. We pay taxes,” the woman said. “We just want somebody to listen to us and help fix the problem.”

We took the concerns to Ald. Mike Rodriguez (22nd).

“I’m so glad the community’s up in arms about this,” Rodriguez said. “I’m up in arms about this.”

He said it is an issue that has been happening along Cicero Avenue for years.

González: “If your office has been hearing about it for years, what has been done about it?”

Rodriguez: “It’s a really difficult problem. The fact is there was a house on 48th Street that along with the 8th District Police, we were able to shut down. There was drug dealing, prostitution happening at that house. We were able to shut that house down. However, that’s now migrated to other areas in that community.”

Rodriguez said he is working once again with police to crack down on such crime.

“We don’t want to give away the playbook. That’s one of the important things about detective work and policing,” the alderman said, “but at same time, I’m pushing them to bring more resources into this issue.”

But activists like Brenda Myers-Powell say arrests alone are not the solution. She knows because 25 years ago, she was a sex worker herself.

“I used to be on those corners and those streets of Cicero,” she said.

But through services and help, Myers-Powell was able to get out of that industry. She is now executive director of the Dreamcatcher Foundation, an organization focused on outreach to sex trafficking victims.

“Women need a facility – a few facilities in Chicago that serve as wraparound services for their needs – not just a hit here and a hit there,” Myers-Powell said, “We want permanent solutions to get them off the street.”

The Dreamcatcher Foundation does have as drop-in center for sex workers in the area of South Cicero Avenue where they can get the support they need to help them get out of the industry. But Myers-Powell said they need more funding to keep up with the demand in services.