Public Sex Near MSI Ruffles Families
CBS 2 Viewer Complains About Illicit Meetings In Area Where Families Visit Tourist Attraction
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Pam Zekman CHICAGO (CBS) ?
CBS
The Museum of Science and Industry is one of the top tourist destinations in the state and draws visitors from all over the world.

Imagine bringing a group of kids to the museum, parking your car and then seeing people nearby engaging in sex. One CBS 2 viewer called 2 Investigator Pam Zekman to complain.

The tipster frequently visits MSI because he volunteers to bring school kids there. He parks his van and unloads the kids in the parking lot behind the museum.

He says he has seen naked men in cars having oral sex, and on other occasions he saw men in the nearby public restroom engaged in sexual activity.

"They were all there, pants down, doing their thing," he recalls.

The parking lot is used by tourists who visit the museum and by people exploring Jackson Park Woods, which includes a popular Japanese garden.

"I mean it's disgusting for the location, it's disrespectful for the location, it's disrespectful for the kids and the tourists that come out there," the source said.

The 2 Investigators found a "cruising" website that directs people to the area. The site provides tips for anonymous sex, including "Walk down the trails and find action" and "don't get nervous."

CBS 2 repeatedly witnessed a parade of cars driven by single men who pulled into the spaces near the rear of the lot and waited. Sometimes, the men would leave their cars and head into the nearby woods.

Down the path some of the men took, ample evidence of sexual activity was found. Along one pathway there were dozens of condom wrappers, used condoms and sanitary wipes strewn about the forest ground.

The evidence of sexual activity is just steps away from the tennis courts where Tyrone Mason runs a tennis camp for kids.

"Horrible and despicable," is how Mason describes the activities going on nearby.

Fifth Ward Ald. Leslie Hairston acknowledges that there is a problem in the parking lot and park, which are located in her ward. She has asked local police to increase patrols in the area and has even witnessed public sex during a ride along with police officials.

"We have people coming from all over, from around the world, and I do not want this to be their first experience in Chicago on the South Side," the alderman said.

When asked what she would say to people having sex in the parking lot and park, Hairston replied: "The message is, 'Get a room.'"

Police patrols in the parking lot seem to have increased since the 2 Investigators started asking questions.

MSI wants to stress that none of this activity is happening in their underground, secured parking lot. All of the activity is in a park district lot located behind the museum. The Chicago Park District says they handle complaints as they get them.