CTA rail employee found slain outside 98th Street yard in area no longer covered by ShotSpotter

A man identified in employment records as a CTA rail employee was found shot to death outside the agency’s 98th Street railyard entrance early Monday. Nobody reported the gunfire when it occurred, likely because the shooting took place on a remote overpass. However, that bridge was monitored by the city’s ShotSpotter gunfire detection network until Mayor Brandon Johnson disconnected the system in 2024.

At about 4:15 a.m., the Chicago Fire Department responded to a report of a person down in the 9900 block of South State Street, just outside the CTA’s 98th Street Yard entrance, officials said. When paramedics arrived, they discovered the 57-year-old man had been shot in the chest. They informed Chicago police officers, who established a crime scene. The victim was taken to Christ Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:52 a.m., according to officials. (Update July 7: CPD today said the shooting occurred at 4:06 a.m., a full nine minutes before first responders were notified.)

Authorities have not released the victim’s name to the public. However, employment records reviewed by CWB Chicago identify him as a CTA rail operations worker.

In an emailed statement, a CTA spokesperson said: “This morning, CTA received a report of a person in need of medical assistance outside the 98th Street rail maintenance facility. According to preliminary information, the individual was found with a gunshot wound to the chest and transported to a nearby hospital. The incident did not occur at a CTA rail station or involve CTA passengers. CTA is working closely with CPD as it investigates this matter, including reviewing and providing any relevant security camera footage.”

The shooting occurred in the 9th Ward, represented by Ald. Anthony Beale, a longtime defender of acoustic gunshot detection technology and one of Johnson’s fiercest critics on public safety. In the months leading up to the mayor’s decision to terminate the city’s relationship with ShotSpotter, Beale argued that Johnson was “in a bubble, because he’s got 116 people protecting him,” while residents in Beale’s ward “don’t have that luxury.”

Beale also criticized the administration’s spending priorities, saying the city could commit “hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars on migrants” but not $8 million to maintain ShotSpotter.

Since Johnson ended the city’s relationship with the gunfire detection system, CWB Chicago has identified 86 cases in which gunshot victims appear to have endured lengthy waits for emergency responses in areas previously monitored by ShotSpotter because nobody called 911 to report gunfire or because the reports that were made were too general to allow officers to locate the victims.

Those delayed responses may be costing lives. According to data maintained by HeyJackass.com, about 21% of people shot in Chicago this year have died from their injuries. But among the victims involved in the delayed emergency response cases identified by CWB Chicago, the fatality rate is nearly three times higher at 58%.

About this series

As of 12:01 a.m. on September 23, 2024, Chicago terminated its relationship with ShotSpotter, a gunfire detection system deployed in 12 of the city’s most violence-impacted neighborhoods. Mayor Brandon Johnson stubbornly refused to reconsider his decision to dismantle ShotSpotter, even though the vast majority of aldermen, many citizens, victims’ advocates, and his handpicked police superintendent requested that it remain in place.

This reporting series, named “Brandon’s Bodies,” seeks to document cases of shooting victims and police investigations that could have benefited from gunshot detection technology.

The general criteria for inclusion are a gunshot victim found outside in a location previously served by ShotSpotter with either (1) no accompanying 911 calls about gunfire or (2) calls about gunfire in a general area that do not lead to the timely location of the victim.