CTA Tattler

Hi everyone,

I just wanted to let you know I witnessed a pick-pocketing team working the Red Line last night. I'm sure this is probably more common then I would like to believe, but it was my first time being exposed to such an incident.

This was a Northbound Red Line around 5:20. I first noticed a woman get on the train at Chicago, I was near one set of doors and she was near the other set of doors at the far end. She was trying to move through the people while the train was in motion between Chicago & Clark/Division, which I thought was kind of weird. At the Clark/Division stop, I noticed she got off the train and re-boarded, only now through the doors I was standing by. I also noticed there was a man behind her, and they were together. There was a girl standing near the doors with her back to me, who had an open purse over her shoulder. Between Clark/Division & North/Clybourn I noticed the woman was leaning forward and kind of looking in this girls purse. I thought this was very strange, and maybe she was going to try and grab something from the girl's purse. As we got closer to North/Clybourn, she crossed her arms over her chest and covered them with a jacket (she was also already wearing another jacket). Then she got close enough to the purse where she could easily reach in and take something. I figure she was probably waiting for the train to stop and she would make the grab when people are getting off, and everyone is getting bumped around, so it wouldn't be so obvious. Then she would hand off the loot to the man with her and they would get back on the train. Once I saw her close enough to make the grab, I nudged into her with my shoulder (I'm a tall guy). She immediately started yelling at me for pushing her, so I started yelling back about how she had her hands in the girls purse. The train was approaching North/Clybourn so I asked the girl if anything was missing, and she said nothing was. The woman continued to yell at me, trying to make a scene, so I yelled back about how she was stealing from people. The train stopped at North/Clybourn (which was my stop) so I got off, as did they, and I just wanted to get some distance away from them as you never know what could happen. I didn't see if they got back on the train, but I went up to the person on duty at the entrance and told them what happened. We didn't see the couple come up and leave, so he radioed it in. Not sure if anything happened after that, unfortunately they probably didn't catch them, but I just wanted everyone to be aware of their surroundings and for ladies to keep your purses zipped up!

It's annoying they probably weren't caught, but it's a great thing you did making a scene like that.

I was coming back from downtown to campus on the Red Line a few weeks ago when I was unwittingly used as a hiding place for a stolen phone. After the train started moving south at Grand, a guy coming from the previous car sat down next to me and slipped a phone between my back and the seat (I was slouching, so there was a bit of a gap). Thinking he was just being stupid and drunk, I grabbed it and gave it back to him. The train stopped at the next station and he got up and tried to go to the next car, except we were the front car of the train. A cop came on the train (we were at the station for like five minutes) and started looking around with another dude when they encountered Mr. Sly. From what I can gather, the phone that the dude tried to hide behind me was stolen from the guy that walked in with the cop. The thief wasn't taken off the train or anything (in fact, he had a huge box sitting next to him on the train, no one can even guess what was in it), it seems like the guy with the phone just wanted to get home and not deal with red tape.

Thanks for that Paul. On that note, watch out for the "cutter gang" as the police call them that stalk the trains at night using switchblades to cut open men's back pockets and take their wallets while they are sleeping.

And thus, why people moving through trains are often up to no good...

How do you cut someone's back pocket while he's sleeping?

I move through the car when it gets crowded on a pretty regular basis. Someone near me might have a cold or smell not-so-fresh or, well, who cares, I'm surprised this is considered suspicious behavior. I guess it's part of our "hang out by, and block, the door" culture where it never ever occurs to most people that there's often more room in the middle of the car.

Bob S.,

I think the problem lies more in people moving from car to car than simply moving to the middle of a car to make space.

Important note:
If you hear an announcement that there's a pickpocket around, don't, I repeat, don't immediately check you pockets or purses!
That's one way pickpockets discover where your valuables are.

Gotcha, Neal. I thought that might be the case but "She was trying to move through the people" didn't seem to be saying that.

Paul, thanks for what you did and for reporting this to the customer service attendant.

But did you call the police too, and give a detailed description of them, including clothing? That's crucial in all these cases because the CPD's MAss Transit Unit rides all the time and they could be just a train stop or two away with handcuffs at the ready.

I'd like to hear the Myth Busters take on that stomach-eating-itself thing. Seems dubious.

On the subject of the stimulus: The NYT reports that the compromise quadruples (to $8 billion) the funding previously included in the bill for high-speed rail.

Not quite transit, but still good to hear.

True story: When I was a kid, one of my friend's father had his shoes stolen while he was sleeping on the Red Line coming home from the late shift. He called his wife to come and get him while he stood there with no shoes. I'm guessing they didn;t need the shoes, just wanted to f*ck with him. Hilarious at the time...

Yeah, monday i was pickpocketed on the red line, too. on my morning commute. It's such a hassle. I guess with the economy there are more and more desperate people out there...