Chicago City Council weighs renewing CTA police contract amid drop in crime

CHICAGO - Chicago City Council is looking to renew a contract between Chicago Police and the Chicago Transit Authority as another level of security on CTA buses, trains and property. 

CPD, CTA contract up for renewal

The backstory:

CPD data shows 857 FBI index crimes have been reported on CTA property so far this year through Sept. 13. That's 331 fewer incidents than the same period last year, a decline of 27.9%. 

The biggest drop is on CTA trains. There have been 328 index crimes on trains this year, compared with 515 through the same point in 2025 — a 36.3% decrease. FBI index crimes include: homicide, shootings, sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, larceny, motor vehicle theft, and arson. 

Robberies have also fallen sharply. CPD reports 193 robberies this year, compared with 348 during the same period last year — a 44.5% decline. Larceny and theft is down nearly 25%, aggravated assault is down nearly 18% and aggravated battery is down 17.5%. CPD's dashboard also shows two homicides this year compared with seven last year, while shooting incidents are down from 12 to four. But the numbers aren't down across every category. 

Criminal sexual assault is up 33.3%, from 18 incidents to 24. And index crime at CTA bus stops is up slightly — from 113 to 115 incidents.

CTA index crime: 2025 vs. 2026 YTD

Chicago Police Department dashboard data through Sept. 13 for comparable year-to-date periods.

But while crime numbers are moving down, the CTA has been changing how it approaches safety.

Earlier this year, the agency ended its contract with unarmed private security guards and redirected resources toward sworn law enforcement and other security initiatives. Its enhanced security plan also added Cook County sheriff's deputies and increased Chicago police deployments.

Now, Chicago's City Council is preparing to renew an existing contract. The council's Committee on Police and Fire is scheduled to vote Tuesday on an intergovernmental agreement between the CTA and the city to provide CPD resources through the Voluntary Special Employment Program (VSEP) at CTA facilities. Alderman Chris Taliaferro chairs that committee.

"We are going to have crime on our buses we're going to have it on our trains. Our goal is to mitigate that as best as possible through this agreement," said Taliaferro. "The more officers we can have on our platforms, on our buses and in our subway, and on our elevated platforms, the more officers and the more sheriff's police that we can have the better off we are and the more safer we are as well, but we are going to have crime. It's just mitigating that as best as possible."

Taliaferro also pointed to the broader law enforcement effort involving CPD and the sheriff's office:

"I think these concerted efforts to include having the sheriff's department or sheriff's police and Chicago police working hand in hand on reducing crime on our system," added Taliferro. " I think is a true testament of what we can look forward to in the next several years."

But law enforcement isn't the only response.

Housing Forward is preparing to put outreach workers directly on CTA trains to connect people experiencing homelessness with shelter, behavioral health care and housing services. 

CEO Lynda Schueler says her organization already had experience working with people using CTA trains as a place to sleep. Housing Forward will have four full-time-equivalent staff working on the trains, with partner organizations bringing the total to roughly 10 staff members rotating in and out six days a week, according to Schueler. 

The planned hours are 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Friday and 6 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Saturday, with additional daytime Blue Line outreach.

Schueler says those hours were identified by the CTA as periods when the need was greatest.  She said homelessness, mental illness, addiction and access to shelter are interconnected issues.

"There's not enough shelter beds in the city or in in the suburban area," said Schueler. "So a lack of emergency shelter beds and access to those critical resources like behavioral health and health care services and, you know, obviously getting access to affordable housing. All of that paired together, that lack of access is really a contributing factor to why individuals are finding, you know, the best way to, you know, not be victims of crime themselves by sleeping out on the streets or under viaducts or what have you is finding themselves actually safest on the trains, unfortunately."

The Kyle Bickham case

The debate over CTA safety comes just weeks after the death of 29-year-old Kyle Bickham, who police say was pushed from a moving Red Line train during an altercation on Sept. 7.

A 15-year-old girl and a 19-year-old woman have been charged with murder in connection with his death, according to police and FOX Chicago reporting. The case has also put renewed attention to the question of how much security riders actually see on trains. Bickham's family previously said they believed there was no security presence on the train when he was killed.

What it means:

The new numbers provide a more complicated picture of CTA safety.

Reported FBI index crime is down 27.9% year-to-date.

At the same time, CTA officials have expanded law enforcement deployments, added sheriff's deputies and fired the unarmed private security guards while adding other resources. Meanwhile, organizations like Housing Forward are being brought into the system to address problems that don't necessarily begin as criminal matters.

Schueler says the goal is to connect people with help before a crisis develops.

"We don't need to be criminalizing homelessness," said Schueler. "We need to really be making sure that those that are so vulnerable that there's a connection there that they can be on a path towards addressing those issues. I mean, there's a lot of untreated mental illness, untreated addiction, and being able to provide those services on the train is a step in the right direction."

What's next:

The Chicago City Council's Committee on Police and Fire is scheduled to vote Sept. 22 on the proposed CTA-CPD agreement.

The full City Council would still have to act after the committee's vote.