Two men have been arrested for a recent robbery on a Green Line train platform in Chicago. As it turns out, one of the suspects had previously been busted for possessing a firearm in the "gun-free" transit system, but was let loose by a Cook County judge over the objections of prosecutors.
The robbery, which is just one of many violent crimes in recent weeks on Chicago Transit Authority property, happened last month. According to CWB Chicago, a 17-year-old was approached by a group of men, who then proceeded to rob him of his belongings.
According to a detention filing by Assistant State’s Attorney Farihah Syed, the victim was on the first floor of the station at around 6:52 p.m. when he saw four people walk past him. Moments later, he said, the group surrounded him while wearing face masks. He felt a hard object pressed against his back, which he believed to be a gun.
[Stephon] Edwards allegedly stood in front of the boy and yanked at his chain, demanding it. The victim handed it over. Another member of the group took his backpack. At some point during the robbery, a CTA employee approached the group and asked, “Are you robbing him?” One of them allegedly replied, “Yes, we the f*** are.”
... Court records show [Xander] Simmons was arrested on July 6 at the same Green Line station after police allegedly found him on the platform in possession of a firearm with an extended magazine. Prosecutors asked Judge James Murphy III to keep Simmons detained at that time, but Murphy denied the request.
Edwards also had a criminal history in Chicago, including a felony conviction for possessing a firearm and a juvenile adjudication for carjacking.
Illinois' prohibition on carrying firearms in public transit is routinely ignored by violent criminals in Chicago, but there is some hope that lawful gun owners may be able to protect themselves before too long. The Supreme Court has once again listed Schoenthal v. Raoul for consideration in conference, and if the justices accept the challenge to the Illinois law and CTA policy, oral arguments would probably take place this fall with a decision likely in the spring of 2027.
Here are just a few of the violent incidents or arrests for those incidents that have taken place on CTA property since the cert petition in Schoenthal was filed last October:
November, 2025 - a woman was set on fire by a repeat offender who was out on the streets.
December, 2025 - a convicted felon was arrested for repeated robberies, including the assault and robbery of a pregnant woman on CTA property.
January, 2026 - two men arrested for a violent robbery on a Red Line train.
January, 2026 - a woman and several accomplices beat and robbed a passenger on a Red Line train.
January, 2026 - a man avoided prison for a brutal beating on a Pink Line train thanks tot the Illinois law that gives defendants credit for time served if they're on electronic monitoring while awaiting trial.
January, 2026 - a CTA employee was sexually assaulted, allegedly by a 7-time felon who was awaiting trial for having a gun on a Red Line train.
January, 2026 - a man with more than a dozen arrests in his past allegedly sexually assaulted a woman on an elevator at a Red Line station.
Now, a gun wasn't used in every one of these cases, but in no case were the victims able or allowed to defend themselves with a firearm.
The Supreme Court has a chance to right this wrong and overturn the Seventh Circuit's decision in Schoenthal, which upheld the carry ban on public transit under the ridiculous argument that there's a national tradition allowing lawful carry to be banned in virtually any crowded public setting.
Whatever security measures are in place, it's not enough to prevent these violent attacks from occurring. CTA property is "sensitive" in name only, and those who rely on it as their primary means of transportation should not have disarm themselves and be defenseless against the predators who view Chicago's trains and buses as a hunting ground.
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