Recent stories highlight violent crime on the CTA, including an unprovoked attack on a 26-year-old woman that led to her being set on fire on a Blue Line train and a deadly Pink Line shooting.
City leaders continue to ignore what is really needed — a larger permanent police presence and proactive law enforcement.
While the mayor congratulates himself for last year’s reported reduction in violent crime, 2025 saw the second-highest level of transit-related violence in the past decade.
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Today, the CTA assigns approximately 135 Chicago police officers to system security. Supplementing that with off-duty officers working overtime and a patchwork of private security guards falls far short of what is required to protect the nation’s second-largest public transit system, encompassing 146 stations and 127 bus routes across Chicago.
The CTA’s inadequate response to U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy’s demand for a comprehensive safety plan has been to expand the Chicago Police Department ‘s voluntary program from around 77 to 120 officers a day and, more recently, to deploy violence interrupters. This is no substitute for a fully resourced CPD transit unit — a unit with enough full-time officers to enforce the law and maintain a visible presence throughout the transit system. Contrast the CTA’s meager transit security with that of New York’s system: New York assigns over 1,000 officers to transit security.
The city should establish a fully resourced public transit unit led by a deputy superintendent for public transit safety and adopt a citywide nuisance ordinance. The CTA budgeted $88.47 million for security last year, while the state’s transit rescue package includes security grants. This gives the agency enough funding to hire more than 500 additional full-time CPD officers dedicated exclusively to transit if it eliminates private security contractors who are poorly trained and unarmed and lack arrest authority.
Those additional officers would allow for CPD staffing at all stations and regular patrols on platforms and trains, while ensuring rapid response to panic button alerts. Officers should be empowered by city ordinance to hold offenders accountable for fare evasion, vandalism, property damage, harassment of riders and CTA workers, and other violations. Accountability should include substantial fines.
Let’s be clear: Crime remains a primary concern for both riders and transit workers. Surveys indicate that nearly half of all passengers cite safety concerns as their top issue, and the CTA’s unions report the same. Keith Hill, president of the CTA bus operators union, said he wasn’t satisfied with police presence on the CTA — particularly on city buses. “We don’t see police,” he said. Fear of crime continues to depress ridership — still down 30% from pre-COVID levels — and contributes to staffing shortages, absenteeism and unreliable service.
The mayor and CTA leadership have failed to recognize the direct connection between public safety and financial viability. Without a significant restoration of ridership to pre-pandemic levels, Chicago’s transit finances will remain on life support. The state’s recent Regional Transportation Authority financial rescue — largely a bailout for the CTA — will be temporary unless the agency makes safety a genuine priority. Today, fare collections cover barely 20% of operating expenses, a catastrophic imbalance for a system once sustained largely by rider revenue.
The state has thrown the CTA a financial lifeline — but it will not last unless we restore public confidence and ridership. That starts with real law enforcement, not token programs or cosmetic policy gestures. The CTA’s future depends on making safety its highest priority, committing enough police officers to maintain a constant presence and empowering them to enforce the law effectively. This is not a question of funding — it’s a question of leadership and priorities.
Paul Vallas is an adviser for the Illinois Policy Institute. He ran against Brandon Johnson for Chicago mayor in 2023 and was previously budget director for the city and CEO of Chicago Public Schools.
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