CHICAGO — The CTA fired its private security forces, abruptly ending the unarmed patrols it once touted as a part of its effort to tackle pandemic-era spikes in crime.
The guards, who were most visible at Downtown train platforms, were fired without notice over the weekend, Bailey Koch, a spokesperson for SEIU Local 1, a union representing many of the workers, said Monday.
About 250 guards with Monterrey Security were impacted by the “sudden announcement,” which led the security contractor to pull workers in the middle of their shifts Friday evening, Monterrey spokesperson Steve Patterson said in a statement.
Monterrey was told Friday to “cease all work and limit activities to those necessary” in a letter obtained by Block Club Chicago. An executive with the CTA’s security division wrote that funding for the guards had been “exhausted.”
That’s despite Monterrey having a $44 million contract to supply unarmed guards through April 2027, according to procurement records. Patterson said the CTA had exercised its option for the final year of the contract only a month ago.
“We are now working with SEIU Local 1 to identify resources, benefits and potential opportunities for these impacted employees, and our thoughts are with them during this time,” Patterson said.
The cuts come shortly after the CTA brought on police from the Cook County Sheriff’s Office amid threats from the Trump administration to withhold federal funding if it didn’t bolster security.
The transit agency also signed a nearly $90 million, two-year contract for security dog teams with Action K-9 Security in February 2025.
“The CTA is strategically strengthening system security by expanding police presence, K-9 units, and crisis response initiatives,” agency spokesperson Catherine Hosinski said in a statement. “Funding previously allocated to unarmed security guards will instead be directed to sworn officers, specially trained professionals and other security resources who are better equipped to help keep riders and staff safe.”
The contract for unarmed guards had been a major score for Monterrey, a clout-heavy security company that expanded its business with the CTA after a $3 million, nine-month “emergency contract” in June 2021.
At the time, there were frequent complaints of unruly behavior and deteriorating conditions on the CTA. Violent crime had significantly risen on the transit system, which saw significantly fewer riders coming out of the pandemic.
But riders have said the unarmed guards did not make them feel any safer. The CTA’s show of force included guards standing around in groups or scrolling on their cellphones.
“They call us the ‘toy cops,’” an unarmed guard, who asked to remain anonymous, told Block Club in 2022. “If I have nothing to protect me, I can’t stay on the job.”
Downtown CTA stations had notably less security presence Sunday afternoon. A few unarmed guards lingered by the turnstiles at the Roosevelt station. One guard said she had heard about the end of the security contract, but was unclear of what it meant for her employment.
Before the federal pressure, the CTA had often resisted calls to expand its police presence, instead awarding the rich contracts for unarmed security.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and former New York City Mayor Eric Adams flooded the MTA with police and National Guard troops to remove hostile riders and unhoused people, a locally unpopular move that led to a high-profile shooting, tense commutes and critiques of racial profiling.
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