Harassing the Poor and Homeless on the Chicago Red Line Trains: Unknown If This Guy Got Fired

By Steven Larsen, one of our reporters in Evanston

(Editor’s note:  This piece is a very good example of the harassment of the poor and the homeless in Chicago.  It has to do with bullying those who have little or no money and treating them poorly simply because the instigator can get away with it.  Steve Larsen wrote this post on August 27, 2019, and placed it on Facebook and other media. Unclear what happened to this individual and whether there are currently members of the same security company riding the Red Line trains.)

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Dear friends—

It is ironic that when I decided to come back to the Chicago area for grad school it was because I thought this was a place where people were polite and exciting things were happening. Being a farmboy, I was always interested in meeting new people and that’s why I have studied the things I have studied.

Last night, I saw Chicago at its worst. I saw security guards at the Howard Redline station chasing homeless people, pushing them, threatening them, trying to bait them into fistfights, screaming at them, and yelling they would “beat their f*cking ass” if they tried to get back on the train without paying.

Apparently, there is suddenly an old Chicago Transit Authority (CPA) policy being put back into place – in the middle of the night with no warning – that people reaching the end of the line must “retap” their card to pay another fare.

The photo is of a Mr. L*ndsey, who seems to be a sort of officer (aka random kid; aka random young guy; aka Red Line nazi) in the contracted security team (not a CTA employee) who was leading this charge in the middle of the night, swearing at CTA customers, threatening to have them arrested, screaming he would “fuck them up,” and making fun of their accents. He was yelling that he had a two-year degree and that the people he was threatening probably did not know what a college degree was.

He did not want his picture taken. However, many of us took notes, took pictures, and resolved to find out today what in the world is going on. With no adults in charge in the middle of the night, these children are running through the station like wolves, saying and doing anything they wish, with no understanding of boundaries or reason.

Nobody is there for the disadvantaged to appeal to. That is how Hitler’s forces worked…

“Kristallnacht” scene from Germany, unclear who the criminals were—presumably nazi soldiers.

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Overnight, all kinds of things happen. Nobody remembers or does anything.

When pushed for a response about the policy of “repaying” at the end of the line, CTA employees of various ranks, including a woman in an office, begrudgingly admitted there is some sort of policy like that. When pressed for an explanation of why this was suddenly being enforced out of the blue, the woman shrugged her shoulders. When asked if this was for real, she offered, “I guess so.”

So we have violent and belligerent security troops once again patrolling the Redline stations to enforce this “repayment” policy aimed at harassing and bullying the poorest citizens of the Chicago area.

The very people who have the least money (or would not be hanging out – and sleeping -- on the train in the first place) are being asked to “tap again” to reboard the train.

I thought all of this had been done away with long ago. Do we need to get into a huge conversation about this violent and ridiculous situation again until it is solved?

PLEASE CONTACT THE CTA IMMEDIATELY ABOUT THIS EMPLOYEE AND THIS SITUATION!!!

INFORMATION SO YOU CAN CONTACT CTA TO COMPLAIN ABOUT THIS EMPLOYEE:

What’s considered harassment?

Any incident where you feel you’ve been victimized by unwanted behavior from another that is threatening, criminal or makes you feel uncomfortable.

Examples of Unacceptable Behavior

• Verbal or physical threats

• Inappropriate touching

Feedback form for online response… (Deleted information)

Telephone numbers for contact… (Deleted information)