Lake in the Hills board considers ordinance to address illicit 'massage centers' -...

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LAKE IN THE HILLS – Village Board members on Tuesday moved forward an ordinance that would proactively work to prevent possible illegal activities hidden behind massage parlor facades.


The ordinance, proposed to the Committee of the Whole by Lake in the Hills Police Chief David Brey, would amend the village’s business regulations to include massage establishments.

“Recently, in the northwest suburbs, several massage establishments have been opened which appear to be legitimate businesses, but in fact, are fronts for prostitution,” Brey said. “Oftentimes the workers in such illicit businesses are underage victims without legal residency.”

The ordinance would require prospective massage center owners to submit an application for a license to operate within the village, Brey explained. That would allow police to conduct criminal background investigations into the applicant and the massage therapists who would work at the center in question.

“This gives us the mechanism ... to make sure all the state and local laws will be complied with,” Brey said.

He added the village right now does not have such a mechanism to carry out these background reviews or regulate massage businesses past general building and code provisions.

The ordinance would have the community development department receive and maintain applications in conjunction with business license registration, and both community development and police would conduct compliance checks, according to village documents.

“The application process also establishes other business operational requirements, including grounds for denial of license or denial of renewal of license,” the documents state.

If approved, massage establishments already operating in the village would receive notification of the new ordinance, and would have one year to comply.

Some businesses, such as physical therapy offices and medical facilities that offer a variation of massages, among others, are included on a list of exceptions, Brey said. This ordinance would apply to businesses of which the sole purpose is massages – he said there are four to five existing establishments that fall under that category.

He added, however, there are not currently any Lake in the Hills businesses under investigation with regard to this issue.

While recognizing the village isn’t dealing with an illicit business of this kind, Trustee Russ Ruzanski said he still wasn’t surprised the matter was brought forth, given recent headlines about alleged prostitution in other areas.

There have been multiple cases over the past few years to pop up in surrounding communities, including Crystal Lake, Algonquin, Arlington Heights, Woodstock and McHenry. Many of the offenders charged in these cases were middle-aged women of Asian descent.