Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – It’s harder than you think to evict a prostitute from your motel.

That’s one takeaway from a Springfield city council discussion Tuesday. Ald. Roy Williams complained to police chief Joe Behl that when motels call police for help in evicting non-paying escorts, the police instead counsel the escorts on what to say in the situation, rather than helping the innkeepers.

Actually, community relations director Ethan Posey said, once somebody stays in a motel for thirty days, “they essentially have established residency, and the owner would need to go through the eviction process at that point to get them out, which would become a civil matter” and thus in the hands of the sheriff’s department. So, city police are not necessarily helping wayward motel guests out of a spot or giving legal advice, Posey said, but, rather, they are stating they no longer have legal standing to remove the guest. “You’ve now entered the realm of a different process,” concluded Posey.

Williams said he fears motels will no longer participate in the city’s homeless program as a result.