Cook County State's Attorney's office spreads word about CTA anti-crime task force
Members of the Cook County State's Attorney's office visited CTA train stations across Chicago on Thursday.
They worked to share information about how the prosecutorial office is working to strengthen public safety across the system.
The new CTA Internal Task Force at the State's Attorney's office is made up of 36 assistant state's attorneys and investigators who will become experts on investigating crime on the Chicago Transit Authority system, said Monique Shelton, communication engagement director for the State's Attorney's office.
The investigators and prosecutors will undergo training with CTA and Chicago Police Department partners on accessing digital evidence, video, and resources to prosecute crime.
Shelton explained that the State's Attorney's office is asking judges to keep CTA riders safe with restrictions on those charged with crimes on the transit systems — either by detaining the defendants until trial, or if the defendants are released, by prohibiting them from accessing the CTA stations where the crime occurred.
"This is no different than any other violent crime," Shelton said. "What we seek to do is promote public safety by prohibiting those individuals from accessing that stop."
This restriction does not ban defendants from the CTA as a whole — only from the stops where they are accused of committing a crime, Shelton said.
On Thursday, the State's Attorney's office team passed out information about the new CTA task force and policies to protect transit riders and workers. Volunteers were out on the Red and Pink lines Thursday, Shelton said.
The Trump administration has taken the CTA to task over crime and has threatened to withhold funding. The Federal Transit Administration has in particular cited the November attack on 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, who was set on fire on a Blue Line train in downtown Chicago, in making their demands.
Last month, the CTA released a plan to increase police patrols on the system by 75%, amid a threat that the transit agency could lose $50 million in federal funding over safety.
CTA officials said the new security plan will include a 34% increase in policing hours from the Chicago Police Department Public Transit Section, doubling the number of off-duty CPD officers patrolling CTA on their days off, and partnering with the Cook County Sheriff's office, which will provide officers on trains for 4,400 hours a month.
Also last month, the Trump administration launched an investigation into the Illinois Department of Transportation over safety issues in the CTA system. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker called the federal investigation a "sham."
In December, the CTA announced plans to deploy dozens more police officers and private security guards on buses and trains, but that plan was swiftly rejected by the FTA, and the Trump administration gave the agency until March 19 to submit a new plan, or risk losing the federal funding.
