(The Center Square) – Following the fatal stabbing of a Chicago Transit Authority employee while on the job, one state lawmaker is continuing his call to reform the SAFE-T Act because the man who killed the employee had multiple previous felony convictions.
CTA janitor Julian Mobley was stabbed and killed while attempting to help a coworker defuse an argument at the Damen and Lake Green Line station on Oct. 8.
Chevazz Campbell, the man charged with stabbing Mobley, was on electronic monitoring for multiple previous felonies, and reportedly violated the requirements of his electronic monitoring multiple times before again violating them on the day of the stabbing.
Pennie McCoach, president and business agent of the Amalgamated Transit Union local 308 called for expanded security within the entire CTA during a news conference about the stabbing.
“We have sounded the alarm about safety for years. We have asked and pushed and demanded action, but reality makes one thing painful painfully clear. Whatever is being done is not enough,” McCoach said.
The union leader said the CTA needs its own dedicated police force, increased lighting and cleanliness, more fare gates to prevent fare evasion, and better maintenance of stations.
She said Mobley was the second employee this year on CTA property to be killed.
Twenty-year law enforcement officer and State Rep. Patrick Sheehan, R-Mokena, renewed his calls to reform the SAFE-T Act, which among other things created a no cash bail policy and judge-determined pretrial release across the state when passed in 2021.
“Campbell had seven prior felony convictions, including aggravated battery, and violated his electronic monitoring conditions repeatedly. Yet, he remained on electronic monitoring at the time of the attack. We have to ask ourselves how someone with this history was still in a position to commit such a violent act and what needs to change to prevent another tragedy,” Sheehan said in a news release.
Sheehan is co-sponsor on at least four bills he said would bring reform to law enforcement in the state, including changing the eligibility criteria for pretrial release, further limit where and when people on pretrial release can leave home, and require immediate officer contact if a release is violated.
Keith Hill, president of ATU local 241, said the placement of 50 Cook County Sheriff’s officers on CTA lines has had a positive impact on safety across the transit system where available, while Chicago Police Department efforts have been a waste of taxpayer funds.
“That brought [crime] 30% down. We’re not advocating to get rid of CPD. That money could have been better spent. Everybody in this room probably will tell you, ‘Why don’t you invest in more sheriffs?’ Because they’re the ones having an impact. 50 of them is not enough,” Hill said.
Campbell was charged with multiple felonies, including first-degree murder, and was ordered to be detained after being arrested and brought before a Cook County judge.
