LINCOLN PARK — The mayor defended Chicago Transit Authority screening of passengers for explosives Monday, saying, "We need to be constantly updating our safety and security."
In a Lincoln Park news conference, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said the screening program to be instituted next week was federally funded, adding that the searches, if executed "with the abundance of caution and done appropriately, are the right thing to do."
Emanuel said similar searches were already standard procedure on public transportation in New York, Boston, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. "The world is different," he added. "We need to be constantly updating our safety and security."
The random screening of passengers for traces of explosives is expected to begin next Monday. Passengers or their bags will be swabbed and tested for the presence of explosive materials.
"It will provide people with the assurance of security, as well as doing it with a sensitivity to their own privacy," Emanuel said.
Emanuel pointed to the increased number of security cameras at CTA stations and on trains and buses installed under his administration, saying, "We've been implementing a security system throughout public transportation."
He added that he did not expect problems with racial profiling in which riders will have their bags swabbed to detect for explosives, saying, "Police have addressed that and will continue to address that."
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