FTA says CTA safety plan "deficient," threatens funding cut

Catch up quick: FTA administrator Marc Molinaro sent letters to Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker this month demanding the CTA develop a verifiable security enhancement plan and submit it to the FTA for approval by Dec. 15 and implement the plan by Dec. 19.

• The agency seemed to comply with that request, announcing Thursday that it was increasing the presence of sworn law enforcement from an average of 77 to 120 officers across the system.
• CTA also plans to add more private security canine (K-9) security guards.

Yes, but: FTA says in a statement the increased police presence "does not meaningfully contribute to an overall increase in security hours across CTA's system" and that it fails to set significant reductions in worker and rider assaults.

The other side: "CTA is in receipt of FTA's response and will respond fully to the request within the allotted time frame to respond," a spokesperson tells Axios in a statement.

• In a statement announcing the increased law enforcement, Leerhsen said, "We expect the additional police and K-9 presence on our system to further increase security visibility."

What's next: FTA says CTA has 90 days to submit a new plan.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with comment from CTA.