• Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke announced a new CTA crime task force that includes the FBI, ATF and DEA.

• The announcement comes days after a man allegedly hijacked a CTA bus at knifepoint.

• Community activist Tio Hardiman said violence prevention groups should also be part of the effort.

CHICAGO – The CTA is getting backup from federal law enforcement agencies as officials work to crack down on violent crime across the transit system.

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke announced a new task force Monday that brings together the FBI, ATF, DEA, Metra, Pace and other law enforcement partners to support investigations tied to CTA crime.

The announcement comes just days after a man hijacked a CTA bus at knifepoint, raising new questions about safety on the CTA.

What they’re saying

“There are two ways to deter crime: the likelihood of being caught and the likelihood of being punished,” Burke said. “By working with law enforcement we are upping the likelihood in both scenarios. That’s what I want to send to the write-in public, that we have heard you. We share your concerns and we are doing everything we possibly can to make this the safest big city in America. And that starts with our transit system.”

What the task force can do

Burke said her office requests detention in every felony case connected to the CTA. Since she took office, judges have granted those requests 81% of the time. If a judge declines, prosecutors will seek a stay-away order barring the individual from the specific bus line or train station where the crime occurred.

“There are two ways to deter crime,” Burke said. “The likelihood of being caught and the likelihood of being punished. By working with law enforcement, we are upping the likelihood in both scenarios.”

CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen said the agency moves one million people every day and called the task force a critical step in protecting both riders and employees.

By the numbers

Violent crime on the CTA is down 22% compared to this time last year, according to figures Burke cited at the news conference.

What is missing from the table

Community organizations are not part of the task force.

Tio Hardiman, president of Violence Interrupters and known in Chicago as “Mr. CeaseFire,” held his own news conference Monday morning outside CTA Garage 5 on North Pulaski Road, steps from where last week’s incident began.

Hardiman is calling for a moratorium on violence aboard CTA buses, with particular focus on protecting women, children, transit workers, and passengers. He and his street team plan to ride CTA buses in the community to reach people before violence occurs.

“You cannot arrest your way out of an epidemic,” Hardiman said. “Violence and violent behavior has become a lifestyle for some people. So we have to work with the people, meet them where they are, and help them out.”

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