The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office (CCSAO) will oversee a new Regional Transit Task Force (RTTF) to strengthen public safety throughout Chicago-area transit systems, State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke announced on May 18.

The RTTF will convene monthly after their first meeting on May 26. The group will include representatives from the CCSAO, Chicago Police Department (CPD),

Chicago Transit Authority (CTA)

,

Metra

, Pace Suburban Bus, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Members will share information, monitor trends and track open cases and investigations, CTA officials said in a press release.

"The Regional Transit Task Force is another tool that will bring us together to hold criminal offenders accountable and prevent further crime from occurring on our buses and trains,” said CPD Superintendent Larry Snelling. "This task force is an example of what happens when all levels of government and law enforcement collaborate to better serve and safeguard those utilizing public transportation throughout the city."

The RTTF began as an internal task force between the CCSAO and the CTA focused on effective prosecutions of transit-related crime, in which Assistant State’s Attorneys received training from the CTA and CPD, and which is now being expanded to include local, county and federal partners.

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