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Red Line Fleet Looking Bad


trainman8119

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I'm happy to report that I was told 2 guys were arrested for vandalism in Howard yard last week. Evanston PD got them. They had CTA vests in there possession as well as switch lock keys. I'm told all CTA rail personnel has those keys. Sounds like the story I was reading on CBS. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/12/11/2-investigators-stolen-keys-can-be-used-to-access-cta-trains/

Although these are keys to the switches and sandboxes, not actual motorman keys from what I was told, but it still sounds dangerous.

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I'm happy to report that I was told 2 guys were arrested for vandalism in Howard yard last week. Evanston PD got them. They had CTA vests in there possession as well as switch lock keys. I'm told all CTA rail personnel has those keys. Sounds like the story I was reading on CBS. http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2013/12/11/2-investigators-stolen-keys-can-be-used-to-access-cta-trains/

Although these are keys to the switches and sandboxes, not actual motorman keys from what I was told, but it still sounds dangerous.

Well I'm sure glad Evanston PD got them although it's not being reported anywhere that I'm seeing. It should be, it might deter others from trying to do it.

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Well I'm sure glad Evanston PD got them although it's not being reported anywhere that I'm seeing. It should be, it might deter others from trying to do it.

Considering that CTA sent out press releases when the Forest Park tagger was arrested, one would think that they would do so this time. Since you bring it up, I would trust the mug shot page over rumor.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Considering that CTA sent out press releases when the Forest Park tagger was arrested, one would think that they would do so this time. Since you bring it up, I would trust the mug shot page over rumor.

CTA employees told me the story so would they lie. Seems like the tagging stopped for a little while and I guess now from the above post either they got out of jail or someone else wants to join them.

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CTA employees told me the story so would they lie. Seems like the tagging stopped for a little while and I guess now from the above post either they got out of jail or someone else wants to join them.

I wasn't going in that direction, but more that if CTA really wanted to deter them, it would have made an example of them like they did the Forest Park guy and get their names and mugshots all over the TV news.

The Tribune has its mug shot gallery, including a fixation on publishing mugshots of alleged prostitutes who do not look that good. I don't know if there are newspaper publishers in the city of the Police Blotter like there are in the suburban papers, where this certainly would have been picked up.

Maybe getting back to my first paragraph, the impression I am now getting from the graffiti and the taking a dump in the car is that CTA has surrendered to the deviants, including with regard to almost new $1.4 million cars. That hits me as distinguishable from passengers tracking in salt or leaving newspapers, or even candy wrappers. If the L is that bad, it is not worth riding. Cab drivers at least have to clean the cab if someone barfs in it, or call the police if, as reported yesterday, has sex in it and then tries to stiff the driver.

There should also be social services to get the homeless off the L and into shelters, but with the budget cuts these days, I guess we can't expect that.

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CTA employees told me the story so would they lie. Seems like the tagging stopped for a little while and I guess now from the above post either they got out of jail or someone else wants to join them.

Don't the CTA have a special kind of cleaner to get rid of the graffiti?

And to Busjack's point, is that a collaboration of Forest Park police working with the CTA to get the press release out from the taggers before and Evanston police doesn't want to cooperate?

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Don't the CTA have a special kind of cleaner to get rid of the graffiti?

And to Busjack's point, is that a collaboration of Forest Park police working with the CTA to get the press release out from the taggers before and Evanston police doesn't want to cooperate?

The suburban newspapers FOIA the Police Blotter if the police doesn't give it voluntarily, and I don't think anyone is withholding mug shots from the Tribune. I don't think we are yet at the stage of North Korea or some of the South American countries where arrested people simply disappear. They have to be brought to bond court (in this case, the Skokie courthouse, if held in Evanston) within 72 hours.

Also, it may be Chicago police, since south of Calvary Cemetery and east of the west right of way line is still in Chicago, and since the crime was committed in the yard, that is who would still have jurisdiction, even if the accused were caught on the Evanston side of the line.

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The suburban newspapers FOIA the Police Blotter if the police doesn't give it voluntarily, and I don't think anyone is withholding mug shots from the Tribune. I don't think we are yet at the stage of North Korea or some of the South American countries where arrested people simply disappear. They have to be brought to bond court (in this case, the Skokie courthouse, if held in Evanston) within 72 hours.

Also, it may be Chicago police, since south of Calvary Cemetery and east of the west right of way line is still in Chicago, and since the crime was committed in the yard, that is who would still have jurisdiction, even if the accused were caught on the Evanston side of the line.

Even if it were not on CTA property, doesn't Chicago Police have extended jurisdiction of some sort? A CPD officer explained it to me once, but that was three years ago.

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Even if it were not on CTA property, doesn't Chicago Police have extended jurisdiction of some sort? A CPD officer explained it to me once, but that was three years ago.

The issue isn't where someone was apprehended, but where the crime was committed, which certainly was on CTA property in the city of Chicago, unless the "artists" magically teleported the cars.

I don't see any statutory limit on police jurisdiction, if that is what you are asking, and there are always reports about car chases on the expressways through multiple jurisdictions.

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Busjack...are you saying that the Howard/West is located in Chicago and not in Evanston?........(L car graffiti defaced at Howard)

"The issue isn't where someone was apprehended, but where the crime was committed, which certainly was on CTA property in the city of Chicago, unless the "artists" magically teleported the cars."

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The issue isn't where someone was apprehended, but where the crime was committed, which certainly was on CTA property in the city of Chicago, unless the "artists" magically teleported the cars.

I don't see any statutory limit on police jurisdiction, if that is what you are asking, and there are always reports about car chases on the expressways through multiple jurisdictions.

That was what I was asking. A few years ago, I saw something on the WBBM-TV web page about an arrest in Evanston by police from another jurisdiction, but I can't recall the specifics offhand. Considering there is some CTA property outside of city limits, I was curious as to what CPD's jurisdiction was regarding those properties.

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That was what I was asking. A few years ago, I saw something on the WBBM-TV web page about an arrest in Evanston by police from another jurisdiction, but I can't recall the specifics offhand. Considering there is some CTA property outside of city limits, I was curious as to what CPD's jurisdiction was regarding those properties.

CPD wouldn't have primary jurisdiction in Forest Park, and the Press Release referring to the tagger caught in the Blue Line yard there referred to the Forest Park police. But if the tagger ran into Bellwood, the Bellwood police would probably turn him over to Forest Park, and the Forest Park police could chase him there, but probably would call for assist.

However, from the City of Evanston official map, the only part of Howard Yard that appears to be in Evanston are the tracks west of the Yellow Line ramp (enter intersection Chicago and Howard, also requires cookies on).

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Thank you for supplying the Evanston Official Map.

When I was a motorman, we are taught that at Howard, the main line was always in Evanston. The historical maps when "L" was formed show the Chicago city line on Howard. When was Chicago annexation of the two block north of Howard took place, the city line went along the east side of the "L" tracks. That included the old yards in the Chicago side.

The Howard yard has changed with the the Red line enlargement. The Evanston Official Map shows me that Howard yard includes the Yellow Line tracks you included; plus the west yards, the Red Line the turn-around, the both Purple tracks, some of the north yard tracks, and the turn-back track around the perimeter. I was not able to copy the map section in Howard yard.

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CPD wouldn't have primary jurisdiction in Forest Park, and the Press Release referring to the tagger caught in the Blue Line yard there referred to the Forest Park police.

In general, an on duty cop in Illinois has full police powers in the city he's employed in, and the surrounding municipalities that are in the same county, what's called their 'district'. That's for enforcing state (and federal) laws, but not municipal ones (except for if the crime occurred in the home city). A Chicago cop can arrest you in Evanston for vandalism (assuming there's a state law against it, but I'm not a lawyer. It's illegal under the common law, so there should be.) but not for violating an Evanston ordnance against spitting on the sidewalk. It's also possible for agencies to have mutual aid agreements, which give the responding visiting officer the rights that a local officer would have. I don't think Forrest park touches Chicago, but I can't keep the borders of the west suburbs straight. If I'm right about that, CPD doesn't have forrest park in their district (in the absence of some mutual aid agreement.), which makes it much different from Howard yard.

It's quite possible that there's some statute that gives officers assigned to patrolling the CTA an extended district. Metra's police have the entire counties that metra operates in as their district, without regard to how close to tracks they are, for instance.

Illinois is a little more restrictive than many other states, which give all sworn officers jurisdiction in the whole state. Only the ISP and the DNR police have that here.

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In general, an on duty cop in Illinois has full police powers in the city he's employed in, and the surrounding municipalities that are in the same county, what's called their 'district'. That's for enforcing state (and federal) laws, but not municipal ones (except for if the crime occurred in the home city). A Chicago cop can arrest you in Evanston for vandalism (assuming there's a state law against it, but I'm not a lawyer. It's illegal under the common law, so there should be.) but not for violating an Evanston ordnance against spitting on the sidewalk. It's also possible for agencies to have mutual aid agreements, which give the responding visiting officer the rights that a local officer would have. I don't think Forrest park touches Chicago, but I can't keep the borders of the west suburbs straight. If I'm right about that, CPD doesn't have forrest park in their district (in the absence of some mutual aid agreement.), which makes it much different from Howard yard.

It's quite possible that there's some statute that gives officers assigned to patrolling the CTA an extended district. Metra's police have the entire counties that metra operates in as their district, without regard to how close to tracks they are, for instance.

Illinois is a little more restrictive than many other states, which give all sworn officers jurisdiction in the whole state. Only the ISP and the DNR police have that here.

My point was more than likely the crime was committed in Chicago.

Metra has its own police force (the existence of which is now being questioned), while at most CTA has a CPD detail.

Finally, Forest Park has Oak Park between it and Chicago.

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If I'm not mistaken, CPD has police authoirty anywhere on CTA property. Also, if if CPD witnesses a crime being committed in Chicago, they can and will chase you and arrest you even if you cross the city limits into a suburb. They're also supposed to notify whatever suburb they're going into for assistance.

This happens all the time on the west side where they'll chase offenders into Oak Park before catching them.

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If I'm not mistaken, CPD has police authoirty anywhere on CTA property. Also, if if CPD witnesses a crime being committed in Chicago, they can and will chase you and arrest you even if you cross the city limits into a suburb. They're also supposed to notify whatever suburb they're going into for assistance.

This happens all the time on the west side where they'll chase offenders into Oak Park before catching them.

They can chase them. But, given the press releases that Forest Park Police arrested the tagger at the Forest Park yard, I doubt that Chicago police have primary jurisdiction over territory 2 or 3 suburbs over.

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They can chase them. But, given the press releases that Forest Park Police arrested the tagger at the Forest Park yard, I doubt that Chicago police have primary jurisdiction over territory 2 or 3 suburbs over.

That kind of depends on how the situation first unfolded. If a CTA employee spotted the tagger, they most likely called Forest Park police who responded and made the arrest because the yard is wholly in Forest Park and dialing 911 there would connect them wth Forest Park. And Forest Park doesn't share a border with Chicago. However, if a CPD Transit Detail officer happened to be there, he could have very easily chased the guy off the yard and make the arrest legally. Forest Park would still have to do the processing and paperwork, but it would still be a legal arrest.

Howard Yard though is different in that the yard straddles the border between both cities and even a regular CPD beat car can and will chase an offender into Evanston and make the pinch.

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