PRIM VOWS TO BRING NEW FOCUS TO BATTLE AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Republican candidate for Sheriff Bill Prim Saturday vowed to bring new resources and a new focus to the fight against human trafficking if he is elected.  Prim said the speakers and presentations he observed at the Patriots United 5th Annual Celebrating Life Unity Breakfast had energized him and many others who attended.

 U.S. Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-Winfield), retired U.S. Rep. Donald Manzullo, and representatives of the anti-trafficking organization Exodus Cry, provided an overview of the problem, which is international in scope but impacts all communities. More than one speaker referenced the anti-slavery crusade of the 19th Century as comparable to the type of effort called for today.

“I learned a great deal here today,” Prim said.  “I commend Brian Kelly, Joe Edwards and the entire Patriots United organization for their farsightedness in putting together political, business and faith leaders in one room both to hear what we’re up against and how we can attack the problem.”

Prim noted that McHenry County and the Chicago area in general are not immune.  Chicago, with its status as a transit hub for air, rail and auto travel, ranks high among U.S. cities for involvement with the international sex trade, and McHenry County itself has seen recent raids of massage parlors and even a Deputy Sergeant convicted of charges related to child predatory sexual acts.

“If elected, I will focus new efforts on this problem, both of an anti-vice enforcement nature, and as part of my overall push in the area of volunteerism,” Prim said.  “While we can’t immediately rein in a global scourge of this nature, we can at least begin to put our own house in order.”