City of Springfield shuts down 11 massage parlors - Illinois Times

[Dean Olsen]

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PHOTO BY DEAN OLSEN

Capital Spa, at 3915 N. Dirksen Parkway in Springfield and doing business as Diamond Spa, was closed by the city on Jan. 31 for not complying with the city's massage parlor ordinance.

Eleven massage parlors in Springfield have been closed down, while another 25 believed to be operating legitimately will be issued local licenses in coming weeks.

City officials mandated the closures as part of the much-anticipated rollout of an ordinance passed by the City Council in June 2024 to crack down on massage establishments believed to be fronting as houses of prostitution and taking advantage of Asian women who may be victims of human trafficking.

"Our main concern is safety and to make sure these businesses are operating according to our code,” Gregory Moredock, the city’s chief legal counsel, told Illinois Times.

Mayor Misty Buscher added in a news release, “We will continue to monitor compliance and take necessary action to protect the well-being of our community.”

Police accompanied city inspectors on Jan. 31 as neon green stickers were placed on buildings to prohibit future occupancy. A few establishments were operating, but it’s unknown whether any illegal activity was going on, and no arrests were made, Moredock said.

The city has faced pressure from some in the public who complained it was taking too long to begin enforcing the ordinance.

“Every single one of you looks bad the longer it drags on,” Springfield resident Ken Pacha told the council during a public comment session on Jan. 28. “Women are still being raped on a daily basis in those parlors.”

Moredock said he understood the reason for the criticism. "But it is unfair to make it seem like we've taken no action," he said. Springfield’s ordinance was modeled after a Chatham ordinance that was drafted to address one or two establishments.

It took time to notify the 40 or more establishments in Springfield that were believed to be operating both legitimate and questionable massage establishments, Moredock said. No additional city staff were hired to conduct the inspections that were needed, and businesses had to be given time to respond, he said.

City officials on Jan. 31 closed three massage parlors that failed to respond to inquiries from the city and begin filling out the paperwork required by the ordinance. Those three were Healthy Spa, 613 N. Seventh St.; Cozy Cabin Spa, 1144 E. Sangamon Ave.; and Capital Spa, doing business as Diamond Spa, at 3915 N. Dirksen Parkway.

The other eight were closed because they didn’t have a state-certified massage therapist on site as required by the ordinance, Moredock said.

The eight other closed were: Jade Spa, 1560 Wabash Ave.; Illinois Relax Spa, 1428 E. Sangamon; Q2 Asian Massage, 1024 W. Lawrence Ave.; Royal Massage, 2745 S. Sixth St.; Providence Spa, 1613 S. MacArthur Blvd.; Sunflower Massage, 1056 North Grand Ave. W.; Red Bean Spa, 1297 Toronto Road; and Fitness Massage, 2330 S. MacArthur.

The ordinance doesn’t call for individuals working at the locations to be cited. Instead, the measure targets property owners and proprietors. The identities of the property owners and proprietors of the shuttered massage parlors weren’t immediately available.

The ordinance allows facilities to reopen if they show compliance with the ordinance, though that process can take weeks or months, and they may face fines ranging from $250 to $750 per offense.

Even before the ordinance was in full force, the city was able to use it to prohibit occupancy for 88 Relaxing Massage at 526 South Grand Ave. W. on Dec. 23. But neighbors said the business continued to operate, and a woman identified by neighbors as a “madam” could be seen directing men to park along streets in the Hawthorne Place neighborhood and then entering the building through a rear door.

The massage parlor, operated by a woman identified as Liyun Liu who listed her home address as the business address, had closed for good by the time a city administrative judge on Jan. 15 ruled in the city's favor. The building owner, Xiaoguang Zhang, a Springfield real-estate agent also known as David Zhang, was fined a total of $10,650 based on building code violations.

The city could file a civil lawsuit against Zhang if he doesn’t pay the fine within about a month. Zhang wouldn’t comment when asked whether he plans to pay the fine. He said previously that he had nothing to do with what went on at 88 Relaxing Massage and told the tenant to make sure nothing illegal was taking place. Zhang said he ultimately was able to evict the tenant to alleviate neighbors’ concerns. He said he is trying to sell the property.

Stacey Hayes, president of the Hawthorne Place Neighborhood Association, said the neighborhood also was concerned about Golden Relax, a massage parlor that operated at 452 South Grand Ave. W.

Golden Relax and 88 Relaxing Massage both closed for a short time after raids by Springfield police in April 2024, and Golden Relax closed permanently later that spring.

Hayes said neighbors would observe men parking along neighborhood streets and in a nearby church parking lot, some in cars with out-of-state license plates, during the day and late at night so they could patronize the two massage parlors.

The neighborhood’s representative on the City Council, Ward 6 Ald. Jennifer Notariano, helped push for the ordinance’s passage.

Hayes said she is “glad that the city is taking action.” The neighborhood’s activism played a major role in the two massage parlors’ closures, she said.

“It just shows the positive outcome when people stick together,” she said.

Several of the massage parlors that were closed in late January had been linked in federal court documents to Gregory L. Fraase, 61, a Sangamon County Water Reclamation District employee and brother of a County Board member who faces criminal charges in U.S. District Court.

Fraase, who has been released while awaiting trial, has been indicted on federal conspiracy charges in two different cases for allegedly owning, renting or being a business partner in at least six “houses of prostitution” in Springfield and one in Chatham that advertised as Asian massage parlors.

Fraase, who has pleaded not guilty, also was accused of evading U.S. immigration law to help a Chinese national gain American citizenship. Fraase was paid at least $20,000 as part of the deal, federal officials said.
Fraase’s next court dates are scheduled for Feb. 20 and March 20.

All of the massage parlors connected with Fraase in court documents, as well as those closed recently by Springfield city officials, were listed on Rubmaps.com, an Internet site that advertises sexual services at massage parlors nationwide and allow patrons to rate their services.