CTA says crime is down throughout the system, but many riders still don't feel safe

The Chicago Transit Authority this week released new crime statistics indicating that violent crime is down on the transit system.

CBS News Chicago has been digging to find out if it's true that crime is down on the transit system. But numbers or not, some riders said they refuse to ride the Red and Blue lines now because of their experiences.

"The smoking and the loud music, and you never know what you get on, like what car you open up to, like, you could open up to a cool car or a crazy car," CTA rider Qushona Harris said on the mezzanine of the Lake Street Red Line subway station downtown. "I just don't have time for things like that."

This past Friday while CBS News Chicago's Sabrina Franza was on a CTA Blue Line train, police arrested Lester Burks, 50, who is now charged with possession of drug paraphernalia and criminal damage to property. Franza recorded on her cellphone.

Riders said they have noticed the new enforcement.

"CPD is mor eon the platforms, but the county police are actually going through the cars,' said CTA rider Katherine Thomas.

But some riders' overall opinion on the CTA has not changed. CTA rider Quita Potts said she avoids the Red Line, and feels like the CTA's reputation is almost beyond repair.

Potts cited her own experiences.

"One dude's on there with a knife waving it around one time when I was on there," she said. "A homeless person came off the train naked."

These comments come months after the CTA began implementing its new safety plan — focusing on getting more police, from both the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County Sheriff's office, onto the system.

At a news conference on Wednesday, CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen reported that crime was down on the CTA in June for the sixth consecutive month, and down for nine of the past 11 months.

Specifically on the Red Line, Leerhsen said all crime was down 47%, serious crime was down 69%, and violent crime was down 76%, in June 2026 compared with June 2025.

"People are going to do what they're going to do," said Thomas, "and all you can do is just try to help deter it."

Across the whole system, the CTA cites a 45% drop in serious crime and a 58% drop in violent crime in June 2026 compared with June 2025.

Union leaders for both bus and train operators denied such a dip.

CBS News Chicago asked Leerhsen to sit down and talk about the numbers more. That request was denied.

The CTA did share a clip from its Wednesday board meeting at which Leerhsen commented on the issue.

"But given the importance of our system to the vitality and strength of our city, it's incredibly important to me that we still stop and note this progress, which is real and continuing to sustain itself," Leerhsen said. "I know I can see and feel the effects of this work as a daily rider, and the week before last, I went out at night on the Red Line to hear directly from our employees that worked that night shift about their experiences — what they appreciate and what they want to hear more about."

Under the promise of anonymity, one CTA employee said he generally does feel safer at work.

"Actually, I feel safer now that [police] are out there," the employee said. "But is it a cure-all for it? No. But I do feel a little safer."

He noted more can be done to protect staff during overnight hours.

"You find a lot of kids out there on the after-hours, and you have less officers during that time," the employee said. "But if you have more officers, you know, out there during that time, I think we're helping kind of circumvent, you know, kids from doing certain things out there as well."

CBS News Chicago sat down with Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart to talk about the plan. He admitted restoring safety on the CTA would be an uphill battle, but he said things were moving in a positive direction.

"There are problems here, and we need to do better, actually have something in place already," Dart said.

The CTA safety plan all started with a threat from the federal government to withhold money if safety concerns were not met. The changes went into effect in March.