Mayor Brandon Johnson said Tuesday he has “had enough” of cigarette smokers lighting up on L trains as he called the act “unthinkable” and signed an executive order aimed at cracking down on CTA smokers.
Johnson said the effort will include placing social workers at CTA stops, starting an anti-smoking campaign on the “detrimental effects of smoking” and tasking city agencies to find other short-term and long-term interventions “to end smoking on our transit system.”
The order came as a surprise to Ald. Bill Conway (34th), who introduced a resolution last month calling for “data-driven” enforcement of the city’s ban on CTA smoking.Conway said the mayor did not reach out to him for input or to inform him of th e new plan.
“As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. So I do appreciate that he’s taking it seriously,” Conway said.
But Conway criticized the mayor’s approach, saying he doesn’t “really quite know how community meetings or social workers help with the cause.”
Conway wanted to see an analysis of problem stations and train lines so the city could increase police enforcement in those areas. He said he may still move forward with his ordinance as it seems “perfunctory.”
Johnson said Tuesday that increased police enforcement could be part of the solution, but that ticketing people hasn’t worked.
“It’s not like the police department is not citing these individuals. It’s just it’s proven to not be enough, and so that’s why we’re taking a more holistic approach,” Johnson said.
Johnson said he is open to the idea of banning people from the CTA who use city trains as a smoking lounge.
“We’re exploring every single option. Because, look, I’m fed up with this. The fact that we have families who are using public transportation day in and day out… and can’t have a reasonable, sensible, comfortable ride because someone is smoking… This is unacceptable… so there has to be a deeper level of accountability.”
The executive order also directs Johnson’s intergovernmental affairs team to lobby Springfield for “adequate funding for CTA” as it and other regional transit agencies face a $771 million fiscal cliff in 2026 that could mean drastic service cuts to CTA, Metra and Pace.