Practical barriers to reaching support
Transportation can affect whether survivors can reach necessities and support services. In 2023, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office announced a partnership with Uber that provided $10,000 in ride and grocery-delivery vouchers for people receiving assistance from its Victim Support Services unit. The office said about 90% of the human trafficking and domestic violence survivors it helped did not have access to a vehicle, according to its announcement.
Phone access was another gap identified by the office. In November 2023, it said 38% of more than 100 survivors it had assisted that year did not have a cell phone. The office partnered with the 911 Cell Phone Bank to provide free prepaid phones, according to its announcement. ABC7 reported that the office’s assistance also included housing, jobs and help for survivors’ children, and attributed remarks about that support to Sheriff Tom Dart and Victim Support Services director Cyndi Kenzinger.
Other publicly described services
Shelter Youth & Family Services says it partnered with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to create a therapeutic residential program for up to 12 female youth ages 12–18 who are in DCFS care and have survived trafficking, according to Shelter Youth & Family Services. The National Immigrant Justice Center says its attorneys and paralegals help trafficking survivors living in its service area apply for T visas and permanent residence. The organizations’ descriptions specify the program’s age and DCFS-care requirements and NIJC’s service-area limit; they do not say whether either offers phones or transportation.
Case facts and court proceedings
The Sheriff’s Office said that on September 16, 2021, Special Victims Unit officers near 5th Avenue and Cicero Avenue encountered an 18-year-old woman being followed by Kyla Hunter, according to the agency’s release. The agency alleged that Corey Bryant and Hunter recruited the woman to perform sex acts for money and kept the proceeds. These were allegations in the release, not findings made at that time.
In its October 2026 report, ABC7 said Bryant was convicted in April 2026 of sexual assault, trafficking and kidnapping after the survivor testified at trial. ABC7 also reported that Hunter pleaded guilty to trafficking, kidnapping and communicating with a witness, and was released for time served.
ABC7 reported that Bryant is being held at Cook County Jail, has filed a motion for a new trial and is expected back in court later this month. The station did not identify the survivor, citing her status as a survivor of sexual assault.
Statewide figures and policy
Illinois received 792 signals to the National Human Trafficking Hotline in 2024, which were associated with 385 identified cases involving 627 victims, including 83 minors and 289 adults. Women made up the majority, according to figures cited by state Rep. Tom Weber. Separately, Illinois service providers recorded 569 new client cases of sex and labor trafficking from 2021 through 2023, according to records cited by the Illinois General Assembly.
In 2025, Illinois passed the Statewide Trauma-Informed Response to Human Trafficking Act, which requires trauma-informed training for law enforcement and expanded screening for youth in state care, according to the same legislative source. The statewide figures and policy provide context for the service programs, but they do not establish whether those programs change outcomes for survivors.
Federal funding for trafficking services
A federal funding avenue described in the U.S. Department of Justice’s FY 2026 Office for Victims of Crime notice is intended to increase the availability of services for people who have experienced labor or sex trafficking. The notice says funded applicants are expected to use the awards to support those services. It does not establish whether any Illinois organization received an award or specify individual services covered, according to the Office for Victims of Crime.
