Calls for more transit safety, SAFE-T reform after CTA employee killed
[October 20, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(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.
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“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.
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