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U.S. Attorney Expands Project Safe Neighborhoods to Downtown Chicago and CTA Rail Lines

This extension onto CTA rail lines represents the first mass-transit deployment of PSN with new federal funding focused on Chicago’s downtown economy

Newly appointed U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros meets with the media at the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse on April 29, 2025, in Chicago. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune/TNS)

Overview

  • The U.S. Attorney’s Office designated PSN Enforcement Zones in downtown Chicago covering parts of three police districts to extend federal anti-violence resources into the city’s economic core.
  • The program now includes every CTA rail line serving neighborhoods and both O’Hare and Midway airports, marking the first mass-transit deployment of PSN.
  • Federal grants will fund hiring additional officers, overtime pay, equipment purchases and anti-violence messaging to bolster enforcement efforts.
  • Participating agencies—Chicago Police Department, FBI, ATF, DEA and Cook County Sheriff’s Office—will jointly investigate and prosecute gun possession, drug trafficking, robberies and carjackings.
  • Prosecutors plan to seek pretrial detention and significant prison sentences for violent offenders arrested within the newly designated zones to maximize deterrence.