Could safety on CTA become a political issue? Mayor Lightfoot says no, but an opponent may not agree
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Safety on the Chicago Transit Authority system is taking a front row in Chicago's mayoral race.
As CBS 2 Political Investigator Dana Kozlov reported Monday, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is acknowledging more needs to be done. The mayor also said crime on the CTA is not a political issue – but one of her opponents is trying to make it one.
"The CTA is a lifeblood of the city – whether it's the bus lines, whether it's the train lines – we've got to do a better job," Mayor Lightfoot said.
The mayor's remarks amounted to a concession that the recent rash of violence on CTA property is a real concern.
At 9:30 p.m. Saturday, a 50-year-old man was stabbed and pushed onto the tracks at the Cicero Avenue Green Line station on the city's West Side.
Later that same night, a 39-year-old man was riding the Blue Line train in Wicker Park when he was approached by an unknown man and the two began quarreling. The offender retrieved a knife and attacked the rider.
The victim exited the train at the Damen stop and suffered a laceration to the right side of the face and arm, and was transported to Northwestern Hospital in good condition, police said.
Sunday around 7:30 a.m., three men were standing on the Midway Orange Line terminal platform near 59th Street and Cicero Avenue in West Elsdon.
Three men, ages 41, 48, and 29, were on the platform when an unknown man began arguing with them. The offender then produced a knife and began swinging it at all three victims.
There have been half a dozen violent CTA attacks in the last week alone. Chicago TV host Will Clinger was the victim of an attack at the Addison Street Red Line stop alongside Wrigley Field.
"I think they could use some more personnel, you know, both on the trains and on the platforms, frankly," Clinger said last week.
Clinger – the former host of the WTTW-Channel 11 show "Wild Chicago" and the current host of "Wild Travels" – is not the only one expressing concerns about the need for more security on the CTA.
Mayoral candidate Willie Wilson is expressing such concerns too.
"I do, however, believe that should be transit police and armed police on the train," Wilson said.
Wilson rode the CTA Red Line from the 95th Street terminal north to the State Street subway downtown Monday – and made his remarks about CTA security on what arguably may be described as a campaign stump.
Mayor Lightfoot said there is urgent talk about bringing more security resources to trains and buses.
"I was in multiple conversations over the weekend with the (police) superintendent (David Brown); with Dorval Carter, the president of the CTA," Mayor Lightfoot said. "There's got to be better communication and collaboration there."
But in the meantime, is the mayor concerned that CTA safety will be a major election issue?
"It's not about the politics," Mayor Lightfoot said. "It's about making sure people are safe."
CTA employees and their union leaders have expressed frequent concerns about employee safety – especially over the past couple of years. And of course, union scan really impact voter choice in elections.
