Mayor Brandon Johnson and Acting CTA President Nora Leerhsen on Tuesday defended their decision to replace hundreds of unarmed security guards with “trained professionals,” a move drawing fire from the chair of the City Council’s Black Caucus.
Ald. Stephanie Coleman (16th) denounced the “sudden termination” of contracts with Monterrey Security and its two Black subcontractors as a “betrayal of the city’s commitment to equity” because it put more than 70 African-American security workers out of work with less than a week’s notice.
City records show the CTA embarked on a $44 million, three-year contract with Monterrey Security in 2022, with two one-year options to renew.
In a statement issued on behalf of the 20-member Black Caucus, Coleman demanded that the CTA suspend the Friday deadline to cancel the security contracts and convene an “urgent meeting” with the Black Caucus and the two Black sub-contractors — Kates Detective & Security and Rush Solutions — to “develop a transition strategy that includes job placement opportunity or contract extensions.”
If the CTA has concerns about security, Coleman said, “three Chicago based-firms that service socially economically-disadvantaged areas that renewed their contracts three weeks ago” should have been given an opportunity to provide “a remedy so they can further their business instead of just putting them out on the streets.”
“The notice that they were sent was, `We’re out of money.’ But the announcement to the general public is, `We’re moving in another direction with armed officers.’ If the direction of the authority was to go toward armed security guards, both of these firms are former sheriffs,” Coleman told the Sun-Times.
Coleman blamed a “lack of leadership” for the sudden nature of the firings. She noted that Leerhsen has served as acting CTA president for nearly 18 months because Johnson has yet to name a permanent replacement for Dorval Carter Jr.
“I blame a system that has failed Black and Brown people and I blame a system that is failing Chicago-based firms that employ those in socially economic disadvantaged areas, and my job is to speak up for… those 70 to 80 officers who are now without work due to an abrupt decision,” she said.
At a news conference Tuesday to kick off the CTA’s construction season, Johnson was asked about the decision to cancel the contract. The mayor punted to Leerhsen, even though the question was asked of him.
“That contract — in long-established, mutually agreed upon terms — would expire when all the funds were used. And that’s what occurred. That was a long-term understanding between the parties,” Leerhsen told reporters at the 51st Street Green Line station.
“It’s critical that we have the right resources on CTA to meet the needs of our riders. And as we grow our resources, we also have to have to be strategic and smart about what is the right resource on CTA. And that was the decision here to not continue to add funds to that contract, but move forward with other resources.”
Johnson added that “safety is our top priority… We’re gonna continue to make sure that we are moving with expediency to create a safe, accessible, reliable, affordable transit system and we’re gonna do that in an equitable way,”
Without offering specifics, Leerhsen said the law enforcement partnerships will include “new missions” across the bus and rail systems “designed to ensure our employees feel safe and our riders see a visible presence of resources.”
Leerhsen said the now-fired unarmed security guards would be replaced by sworn officers, crisis intervention workers and social service employees trained to assist riders who are homeless or have mental health issues.
“You’re gonna see uniformed officers across the system in a targeted, data-informed way that’s driven by feedback from our riders, from our employees, as well as the data that we’re seeing,” she said. “You’re also gonna see our canine guards on the system, also deployed in a strategic way, as well as upcoming new pilots of violence intervention and crisis specialists on the system. So we’re bringing a full force of a holistic approach to address the needs on our system… in addition to our longstanding partnerships with social service agencies.”
Coleman didn’t buy Leerhsen’s claim that the security changes were an upgrade for CTA riders.
“I don’t know how you can [present] something as an improvement and it’s been less than 72 hours,” Coleman said.
