CTA and Chicago Police Unite to Enhance Transit Security Following Blue Line Fire Incident

CHICAGO (WLS) — Following a shocking incident in November where a woman was set ablaze on a CTA Blue Line train, the Federal Transit Administration has called for a comprehensive safety overhaul of the Chicago transit system. The agency has warned that it might withhold substantial funding unless more stringent safety protocols are implemented.

Within the newly established Strategic Decision Support Center, a vast network of CTA and Chicago police cameras is monitored in real-time to swiftly apprehend offenders on public transit. This upgraded facility, operational for just under a year, is staffed by members of the citywide Robbery Task Force and the public transportation division.

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“When we receive reports of ongoing crimes, we can quickly relay that information to the public transit section and nearby officers. Our detectives, stationed right here, can initiate their investigations at the earliest stages of an incident,” explained Antoinette Ursitti, the Chicago Police Department’s chief of detectives.

This investigative hub represents a strategic partnership between the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and the Chicago Transit Authority, aimed at promptly apprehending individuals responsible for violent crimes.

“Access to real-time data significantly aids our investigations and gives us an advantage in capturing these criminals,” stated Sgt. Albert Wyroba.

Thanks to rapid video access, in January, the police managed to arrest a man within five days after he assaulted and robbed a passenger on the Red Line.

“These officers and detectives immediately start monitoring the cameras where these incidents occurred,” Sgt. Wyroba said.

Another man who was charged with criminal sexual abuse at a Red Line station in January was arrested within 11 hours of the crime occurring.

But in November, 26-year-old Bethany McGee was doused in gasoline and set on fire on a CTA Blue line train. That put CTA safety in the spotlight.

She was released from the hospital this month to continue her recovery. Her alleged attacker is facing federal terrorism charges.

“What they’re trying to do is not only hold that person accountable but make sure that they’re not out there doing that to someone else,” Chief Ursitti said.

According to CPD crime numbers reviewed by the ABC7 Chicago Data Team, violent crime on the CTA is up 4.3 percent in the last 12 months over the yearly average of the past three years, as overall crime citywide has fallen.

That Blue Line fire attack prompted the Federal Transit Administration to send a blistering letter to the CTA demanding aggressive safety improvements or risking the loss of millions in federal funding.

“We do have officers riding trains. We have officers on buses. We’ve also increased our canine patrols, our threat and security patrols,” CTA Vice President of Security Kevin Ryan said.

The I-Team obtained a copy of the CTA security enhancement plan sent to the FTA. It said the CTA would surge staffing of CPD across its system by 67 percent.

Records from Chicago police reviewed by the I-Team show they’ve gone above that with an average of 140 CPD members volunteering to work overtime with the CTA each day in the first weeks since the plan was implemented on Dec. 19.

The CTA also told the FTA it would increase the number of private security K-9 officers by 9 percent, up to 188 daily in the first few weeks.

Increasing artificial intelligence-monitored gun detection cameras and more physical protections for bus operators are also being implemented, according to the CTA response.

But in an official response, the FTA fired back, saying the new CTA security plan is “materially deficient,” that it “fails to target significant reductions in transit worker and customer assaults and other crime and fails to significantly increase security or law enforcement presence.”

Ryan told the I-Team he’s working with CPD to further increase officer staffing, saying, “We’re scheduling 200 percent more.”

Now, the CTA has less than a month to submit a stronger safety plan to the feds or face $50 million in funding cuts. The CTA said it could not comment on its new safety plan, as it is still being drafted. But they say having officers visible to the public every day is a big deal.

Lt. Tim Hawkins with the citywide Robbery Task Force at the Strategic Decision Support Center says, with access to tens of thousands of cameras, this unit’s significance goes well beyond policing on the CTA.

“The areas handle homicides and sexual assaults. They’ll be in touch with the room constantly to get video for people who are using it before, after or in between. And they’ve been a huge help. They handle hundreds of requests a month,” Hawkins said.

The CTA told the I-Team it would share the new safety plan being drafted to the FTA when it is submitted. The deadline to present an improved safety plan or face federal funding cuts is March 19.