New Task Force Targets CTA Crime

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke announced a new Regional Transit Task Force on May 18, saying the group will bring prosecutors, police, transit agencies and federal investigators together to target crime on Chicago-area buses and trains. The office said the task force includes the Chicago Transit Authority, Metra, Pace, the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County sheriff’s office, the U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The first meeting is scheduled for May 26. O’Neill Burke said the effort is meant to share intelligence, support investigations and strengthen prosecutions tied to transit-related crime. ### What exactly did O’Neill Burke launch? The May 18 announcement created what the state’s attorney’s office calls the Regional Transit Task Force, or RTTF. The group expands beyond the office’s earlier internal CTA-focused prosecution effort and is set up as a multiagency forum spanning local, county, federal and transit officials. (transitchicago.com) O’Neill Burke said, “Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure on public transit,” and described the task force as a way to “share intelligence, deter transit-related crime and improve public safety” for riders and workers. CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen called it an “unprecedented partnership” tied to the agency’s broader security strategy. (transitchicago.com) ### Which agencies are part of it? Participants named by the state’s attorney’s office include the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, CTA, Metra, Pace, Chicago police, the Cook County sheriff, the U.S. attorney’s office, the FBI, ATF and DEA. The membership shows the effort is not limited to the CTA, even though recent public discussion has centered on crime on Chicago buses and trains. (transitchicago.com) Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart said the agencies would work together to improve safety for “the two million public transit riders in Northeastern Illinois.” Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling said the task force would help “hold criminal offenders accountable and prevent further crime from occurring on our buses and trains.” (transitchicago.com) ### How does this connect to the earlier CTA prosecution push? On March 25, O’Neill Burke’s office disclosed an internal Chicago Transit Authority Task Force made up of 36 assistant state’s attorneys and investigators from multiple bureaus. That internal unit was created to serve as a central resource for transit-related prosecutions and to train prosecutors with CTA and Chicago police on video technology and other evidence used in court. (transitchicago.com) The March directive also told prosecutors to seek available court-ordered restrictions on transit access for defendants charged with violent crimes on CTA property if they were not detained pretrial. O’Neill Burke wrote then that “reducing crime on public transportation is now a top priority.” ### Why now? The May 18 rollout came after months of pressure over transit safety and days after another headline-grabbing incident on the system. (news.wttw.com) CBS Chicago reported that O’Neill Burke pointed to repeat violent offenders as one priority and said prosecutors would seek detention for people accused of violent transit crimes while their cases proceed. WTTW reported in March that federal authorities had threatened to withhold as much as $50 million in funding from the CTA unless the agency produced an acceptable safety plan. (news.wttw.com) CTA officials earlier this month published a plan that included a 75% increase in policing hours, more officers riding buses or stationed at stops and physical security upgrades. ### What have officials said about transit crime trends? (cbsnews.com) CBS Chicago reported that officials said overall violent crime on transit had declined even as aggravated battery and criminal sexual assault were up. O’Neill Burke said at the May 18 event that deterrence depends on “the likelihood of being caught and the likelihood of being punished,” and said the task force was intended to raise both. (news.wttw.com) ABC7 reported that O’Neill Burke said the task force would focus on prosecutions and regular coordination. CTA has also argued that recent high-profile incidents do not reflect the full trend line across the system, pointing to agency data showing broader crime declines. ### What happens next? May 26 is the first scheduled meeting for the Regional Transit Task Force, according to the announcement from the state’s attorney’s office and CTA. (cbsnews.com) The agencies said the group will meet regularly after that, while the separate internal prosecution team continues specialized training with CTA and Chicago police on transit-related evidence and case handling. (transitchicago.com) (abc7chicago.com)