‘A great and urgent need’: How top prosecutor plans to tackle crime on public transportation

Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke announced Monday the creation of a Regional Transit Task Force to reduce crime on trains and buses.

“Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure on public transit,” O’Neill Burke said during a briefing at a downtown CTA station.

The task force brings together local and federal law enforcement, prosecutors and transit agencies. “The mission is clear: Promote public safety on transit systems by working in collaboration together,” she said.

RTTF won’t be the sole transit safety task force for long.

The Northern Illinois Transit Authority Act, which becomes law on June 1, mandates the formation of a task force to prevent crime on the CTA, Metra and Pace through coordinated policing.

It will be convened by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and is required to make recommendations on systemwide policing and security by Dec. 1.

“That task force is not formulated as of yet,” said O’Neill Burke, whose task force will hold its first meeting May 26. “We decided there is a great and urgent need to get ahead of this right now.”

Crime on the Chicago Transit Authority was a key driver of the NITA Act, which comes amid high-profile crimes such as the fatal shooting of four people on a Blue Line train in Forest Park in September 2024 and a woman being set on fire on a train in November.

The new effort was proceeded earlier this year by an internal task force that trained staff in prosecuting transit crimes, O’Neill Burke noted.

Going forward, the office will use strategies such as dispatching assistant state’s attorneys to the first court appearance of transit felony suspects.

“That’s why this is so important to have the open lines of communication so we can put forward the best evidence possible to a judge.” The more that occurs, “the more people who present a danger to the public are detained,” she explained.

Another focus will be prosecuting misdemeanors, including offenses like drinking and smoking on trains, O’Neill Burke said. That approach leads to more offenders with mental health issues being connected with services, she added.

CTA Acting President Nora Leerhsen called RTTF a “significant and important step ensuring the safety and security of CTA riders and employees.”

The CTA has increased its Chicago Police Department presence and earlier this year Cook sheriff’s officers began patrols on trains. The agency is also amplifying data collected from cameras in buses and trains to respond to issues, Leerhsen said. Serious crime dropped by 47% and property crime by 64% systemwide from April 2025 to April 2026.

RTTF members include the sheriff’s office, Chicago Police Department, CTA, Metra, Pace, the U.S. attorney’s office, FBI, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and U. S. Drug Enforcement Administration.