Cook County Attorney’s Office creates new task force in response to rising CTA crime

In an effort to fight increased crime on the city's public transit, the Cook County State's Attorney’s office is officially creating a brand new specialty CTA task force. 

According to WTTW News, the move comes in response to a recent rise in transgression on the CTA lines, namely a rash of incidents, including a woman who was set on fire last year on the Blue Line, as well as last Wednesday, when police responded to an episode that saw two individuals stabbed on the Red Line.

The Task force, to start, will include 34 attorneys and two investigators who volunteered for the position on top of their primary responsibilities, WGN News reported. The group will receive specialized training to combat future issues, as well as how to best approach transit-related prosecutions. 

According to WGN News, the new organization also comes against the backdrop of political dynamics, with the federal government threatening to withhold $50 million in funding to the city if the CTA does not become safer. 

In conjunction with the task force, the state Attorney's Office is also releasing a new protocol, which will require attorneys to seek pre-trial detention for all violent CTA crimes, meaning dangerous assailants would be more likely to be off the streets while they await trial, per WTTW news.

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The Attorney's Office joins a long list of organizations that have taken specific steps to combat transit crime in the city, with the Chicago Police Department among others making it a priority focus for 2026.

The new task force and similar initiatives will come as a welcome move for the more than a million average daily riders who utilize Chicago public transit, according to the Regional Transit Authority.