It’s Wednesday. Read the latest from WTTW News on policing, transportation and immigration.
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A CTA train makes its way through downtown Chicago. (Rawf8 / iStock)
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The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office last month announced a new internal transit crime task force made up of 30 specially trained prosecutors focused on crimes committed on the Chicago Transit Authority’s buses and trains.
The move follows years of concerns about violent crime on the CTA and efforts by local officials and the Chicago Police Department to curb incidents through increased police presence and private security.
Yvette Loizon, an attorney with the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, said violent crime on the CTA is an emerging focus for the office.
“While violent crime throughout our city has decreased significantly, CTA crime is one area where we consistently see violent crime go up,” Loizon said. “That’s a big source of concern for the state’s attorney’s office.”
More context:
Chicago Police Department statistics show aggravated battery incidents on the CTA were higher as of April 19, 2026, than at the same point last year. Criminal sexual assaults are also higher this year at 14 reported incidents, compared to nine at the same point last year. Other crime categories like robberies and aggravated assaults are down.
Renewed attention to CTA crime also follows a December incident in which a woman suffered serious burns after another rider set her on fire. The suspect, Lawrence Reed, had been arrested dozens of times and previously was involved in other CTA-related crimes.
Following the incident, the Trump administration threatened to withhold around $50 million in federal funding for the CTA if it did not increase security and police presence.
W. Robert Schultz III is a campaign organizer at the Active Transportation Alliance, a Chicago community organization focused on improving access to transportation. He said police and security guard presence has fallen short of making CTA riders feel safe and that the CTA should explore the area between “policing everywhere, which is impossible, and doing nothing, which is unacceptable.”
He said interventions that involve mental health experts and social workers could be effective.
“People have different types of reactions to different situations,” Schutz said. “One of the things that society needs to do is scale up our response to the unhoused, mental illness and substance abuse.”
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(WTTW News)
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Chicago taxpayers spent approximately $544.4 million on employee overtime in 2025 — 6.3% less than in 2024, with more than half of the total amount used to compensate Chicago Police Department officers for working extra hours, according to records obtained by WTTW News.
The $544.4 million includes approximately $77.3 million in holiday and compensatory time and more than $467 million paid directly to employees who worked more than eight hours a day or 40 hours per week, according to data published by the city’s Office of Budget and Management.
By comparison, the city spent $581 million on overtime in 2024, according to the data.
In all, Chicago taxpayers spent $285.8 million on overtime for members of the Chicago Police Department during 2025, 5.6% less than the previous year, but 185% more than the $100 million Chicago City Council set aside for police overtime as part of the city’s annual budget, according to the data.
By comparison, CPD spent $302.9 million on overtime in 2024, according to the data.
In 2026, CPD has a budget of $200 million for overtime. To finish 2026 on budget, CPD must reduce its spending on overtime by 30% as compared with what the department spent in 2025.
Some backstory:
The city of Chicago spent at least $60.8 million on overtime for members of the Chicago Police Department during the first three months of 2026, according to updated records published by the city’s watchdog.
WTTW News’ analysis of 2025 overtime spending relies on a dataset published by city officials that “is subject to updates and modifications due to the course of business, including activities such as canceling, adjusting, and reissuing checks.”
In 2025, more than 190 city employees earned more than $100,000 in overtime alone, on top of their salaries, according to a WTTW News analysis of the data. Of those city employees, more than 63% are members of the Chicago Police Department.
In September 2024, officials imposed limits on overtime for all city departments, except for police and the Chicago Fire Department, amid a massive budget crunch.
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A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent takes part in an early morning operation in Park Ridge, Ill., Friday, Sept. 19, 2025. (AP Photo / Erin Hooley)
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An Illinois commission created to document alleged abuses committed by federal immigration agents has determined a Border Patrol agent had no justification when he shot Marimar Martinez in Brighton Park last year.
During its final public hearing, the Illinois Accountability Commission on Tuesday heard extensively from Martinez and her attorney, recounting her shooting and the lies federal agents allegedly told after the fact to defend their shooting of the 31-year-old Montessori school teacher in Brighton Park last October.
After conducting its own investigation, the commission determined there is reasonable cause to believe the agent who shot Martinez did so without justification, that evidence was deliberately tampered with, that federal agents deployed chemical weapons against Chicagoans indiscriminately and that the Department of Homeland Security failed to ensure any accountability for those actions.
“This is an extraordinary and profoundly alarming pattern of events,” Jimmy Arce, an attorney and member of the commission, said Tuesday, “not procedural lapses or technical errors, but consistent intention violations of the law and deliberate institutional cover-up.”
Gov. JB Pritzker created the Accountability Commission in October, tasking it with creating a “public record of abuses” committed by the president, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, border czar Tom Homan and Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino during last year’s “Operation Midway Blitz.”
The commission has spent the last several months collecting evidence and witness testimony and is set to issue its final report Thursday.
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More From WTTW News:
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Back in the Day: April 29, 1931 - William Ball, Stage Director and Founder of the American Conservatory Theater (ACT), Born in Chicago
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Since 1965, when it was founded in Pittsburgh and moved to San Francisco in 1967, the American Conservatory Theater has been one of the most prestigious conservatories and performing arts centers in the country. It’s produced actors like Winona Ryder, Denzel Washington, Zendaya, Annette Bening and Brie Larson and even won a Tony in 1979. On this day 95 years ago, the institution’s founder and stage director, William Ball, was born in Chicago. A stint at Carnegie Mellon University led him to Pittsburgh, where he eventually started ACT — a theater company and a developmental conservatory for aspiring actors. He toured ACT in 1966 and eventually moved it to its permanent and
present home. Two of his ‘70s productions of “Cyrano de Bergerac” and Shakespeare’s “The Taming of the Shrew” were televised nationally on PBS. He died in 1991 at 60.
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Chicago-Area Live Music Recommendations for April 29-May 5
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Each Wednesday, WTTW News producer Josh Terry presents must-see live music shows from indie rock to jazz, country, hip-hop and more.
Wednesday, April 29:
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band at United Center. Tickets.
This show marks the WTTW News newsletter producer’s first-ever time seeing the Boss.
GENA (Karriem Riggins + Liv.e) at Sleeping Village. Tickets.
Two artists from Dallas and Detroit team up for a smooth night of jazz, soul and hip-hop
Snõõper, Shrudd, Body Shop at Subterranean. Tickets.
Nashville’s rowdiest punk band brings papier-mâché puppets to Wicker Park.
Thursday, April 30:
Pearla, Josh Halper, Max Subar at Color Club. Tickets.
Two Brooklyn folk songwriters join forces for a show in Old Irving Park.
The Messthetics & James Brandon Lewis, YR Knives at Constellation. Tickets.
These two artists find the common ground between punk and jazz.
Gladie, Noun, Sick Day at the Empty Bottle. Tickets.
You might know this excellent Philadelphia punk songwriter from bands like Cayetana and Universal Girlfriend.
Friday, May 1:
The Hoyle Brothers at Empty Bottle. Free.
Want a matinee show? This honky tonk residency is always on Fridays at 5:30 p.m. and always free.
Saturday, May 2:
Failure, Baroness, ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Shiner, Ringo Deathstarr, Spotlights, Bleary Eyed, Slow Mass at Radius. Tickets.
A two-stage, one-day music festival of indie rock, punk and metal in Pilsen.
Resavoir, Gregory Uhlmann at Wicker Park Lutheran Church. Tickets.
The Chicago jazz trumpeter and producer enlists the L.A. guitarist for this unconventional concert.
Sunday, May 3:
Remember Sports, Cusp, Krill 2 at Cobra Lounge. Tickets.
Three acts of infectious indie rock and power pop.
Tuesday, May 5:
Iron & Wine, Improvement Movement at Thalia Hall. Tickets.
Two generations of folk-rock in Pilsen.
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What Chicago neighborhood has the best food? Tell us why.
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more.
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry
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