Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is sponsored by U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Oregon (USAO) / Bureau of Justice Assistance, Office of Justice Programs. PSN is a Violent Gang and Gun Crime Reduction Program that provides grant funding for state and local law enforcement agencies to develop innovative multi-disciplinary, multi-agency approaches to addressing violent crime.

CHICAGO — Andrew S.

Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, today announced an expansion of Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”)—a key component of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy—to include the economic centers in downtown Chicago and the entire rail system operated by the Chicago Transit Authority, including all train lines operating in every neighborhood from every part of the city.

The PSN program is a federally funded, nationwide initiative that brings together federal, state, and local law enforcement and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. Until today, the PSN program was deployed in seven Chicago neighborhoods on the West and South sides of the city.

The expansion announced today will implement the program in parts of three police districts in downtown financial zones that represent the economic engines of the city and region, as well as on the CTA trains that bring residents and visitors to those areas from every neighborhood of Chicago and from the city’s two international airports.

Today’s announcement represents the first time anywhere in the country that the program will be deployed on mass transit. The PSN expansion was announced by U.S. Attorney Boutros and members of the PSN Chicago Task Force, including the Chicago Police Department.

Substantial assistance to the PSN program is provided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Cook County Sheriff’s Office.

“Downtown Chicago is the capital of the region’s economy and the cultural and civic heart of the Midwest, where interstate commerce runs strong,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros, who was sworn in as the United States Attorney on April 7, 2025.

“Many billions of dollars of revenue, taxes, and investments are anchored in our city’s financial districts, and when violence and criminal activity cause our residents, businesses, and tourists not to feel safe to live, invest, and shop in Chicago, everyone suffers, whether at the federal, state, or local level.

By investing PSN resources in our urban economic centers and the public transit system that feeds into them, we will help foster a downtown that is both safe and friendly to economic vitality for everyone.

This initiative could not happen without a deep collaboration and shared commitment between the Department of Justice and our PSN partners to dedicate the resources necessary to support the downtown economic zones and the many millions of people who annually visit them, as well as the scores of businesses both large and small who serve them.

” “Partnership and collaboration with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners are vital in reducing violence and making Chicago safer for all,” said Chicago Police Department Superintendent Larry Snelling. “Project Safe Neighborhoods reflects this spirit of collaboration and serves as an important tool in addressing crime in one of the busiest areas of our city.

The expansion of this program builds on the progress CPD is making in combating crime citywide.

” “This new investment of federal resources is critically needed to address the threat that crime—including organized retail theft, carjacking, and armed robberies—pose to the heart of Chicago’s economy and to the transportation systems that tens of thousands of Chicagoans use to travel to and from the downtown,” said Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart.

“For years, my office has devoted significant resources to aggressively combat crime throughout downtown Chicago, the Magnificent Mile, and the surrounding areas, and we welcome the much-needed expansion of Project Safe Neighborhoods to these areas. ” “ATF is proud to work with our federal, state, and local partners on the expansion of Project Safe Neighborhoods,” said ATF Chicago Special Agent-in-Charge Christopher Amon.

“By combining resources and expertise, we are proactively taking steps to disrupt violent crime in key transit and economic areas to ensure the safety of our residents and visitors. ” “The FBI remains steadfast in our dogged pursuit of eliminating violent crime,” said FBI Chicago Special Agent-in-Charge Douglas S. DePodesta.

“We continue to be thankful for the powerful collaboration between our many law enforcement and prosecutorial partners in this fight. Our combined efforts reflect our unwavering commitment to ensure that anyone who seeks to endanger our community will be held accountable.

” Originally launched in 2001, PSN is an evidence-based program that focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders, and partners with local prevention and reentry programs to pursue lasting reductions in crime. PSN follows four key design elements: focused and strategic enforcement; prevention and intervention; accountability; and community engagement.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office works closely with its Chicago PSN Task Force partners to assist with applying for and obtaining federal PSN grants to support anti-violence strategies in Chicago. By designating the downtown economic centers and CTA trains as PSN Enforcement Zones, PSN funds can now be deployed in various ways to help reduce violent crime in those areas, including: * Aggressively prosecuting violent offenders.

* Hiring law enforcement personnel. * Paying certain overtime costs for law enforcement officers and others working downtown and aboard CTA trains. * Purchasing equipment to assist with violent crime reduction efforts.

* Supporting multi-jurisdictional task forces. * Providing training and technical assistance under the national PSN program. * Expanding messaging to deter violence, including signage aboard CTA trains.

The enforcement efforts in the newly designated PSN Enforcement Zones will focus on the investigation and prosecution of individuals and organized groups who engage in illegal firearm possession, drug trafficking, robberies, carjackings, and other violent offenses.

For violent offenders arrested downtown or aboard CTA trains, criminal prosecutors will bring appropriate charges to achieve maximum deterrence and will seek pretrial detention and substantial prison sentences for defendants who pose a danger to the community.

In addition to all of the CTA rail lines in every neighborhood in Chicago, the newly designated PSN Enforcement Zone, depicted on this map (reproduced below), extends from Division Street on the Near North Side, between Lake Michigan and La Salle Drive (e.g., Magnificent Mile and Oak Street shopping corridors, Navy Pier, Loop, and Millennium Park), to I-55 between Clark Street and Lake Michigan on the Near South Side (e.g., Museum Campus and McCormick Place), and extends west to Ogden and Ashland Avenues, between Grand Avenue and I-290 (e.g., Fulton Market and West Loop business corridors).