Buffalo Grove reworking proposal regulating massage businesses involved with prostitution -...

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Buffalo Grove officials are revising a proposed ordinance meant to crackdown on prostitution at local massage businesses after trustees recently criticized the proposal for being too broad.

Under the new regulation being considered by village board members, a Buffalo Grove landlord who leased space to a massage business, which lost its license because of a prostitution arrest, would not be allowed to lease the space to another massage businesses for two years.

During a meeting Feb. 27, trustees told village staff to revise the wording of a draft ordinance. Trustee Jeff Berman and others worried that the ordinance gave village officials too many options beyond prostitution for revoking a massage business' license.

"I said, 'Guys, this doesn't meet the intent of what we were looking for,'" Berman said. "Nobody wants to look like they're supporting prostitution, but we're trying to engage in economic development, not repression."


As written, the draft ordinance could have placed a two-year ban on massage businesses that has had a license revoked for reasons unrelated to prostitution, including overdue bills or fines, Berman said.

After some discussion on the matter, trustees ultimately decided during their meeting Feb. 27 to have village staff rewrite the proposed ordinance and limit the two-year ban to massage parlors involved in incidents of illegal sexual activity.

Trustee Steven Trilling said he still would like to grant village officials the appropriate enforcement powers to regulate massage businesses involved in prostitution activity even in a more limited proposal.

"We want to be able to make it as difficult as possible for another, when they have a violation, to reopen and resume any of those activities," Trilling said. "But I understand why Jeff has his concerns, and I can see limiting the scope."


Buffalo Grove officials started looking into the ordinance after two women were charged in April 2016 with operating a massage therapy business without a license, according to village officials.

One of the women also was charged with prostitution, Buffalo Grove police have said.

Village Manager Dane Bragg has said that a proposed ordinance would guard against massage parlors promoting prostitution that seemingly operate by a different name but involve the same ownership.

Often times, when a massage business loses its license, the same ownership will open up a similar business under a different license and look to occupy the business space again, he said.

rwachter@pioneerlocal.com

Twitter @RonnieAtPioneer


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