State Troopers Arrive To Help Chicago Cops Catch Fugitives
(CBS) -- The aggressive move is underway to get bad guys off the streets in Chicago, reports CBS 2's Brad Edwards.
Forty Illinois State Police troopers met with Chicago Police Wednesday to lay out their plan of attack.
CBS 2's Brad Edwards reports they arrived en masse at the Harrison District Police Station in the Lawndale neighborhood.
State Police Director Hiram Grau said the day was part orientation for the troopers.
"I know a many of them are looking forward to this assignment," said Grau.
The 40 state troopers will be assigned to 20 to 25 surge teams, each consisting of five Chicago Police officers and two state cops who'll go out searching for the estimated 7,300 active fugitive warrants in the city.
The official launch is at 7 a.m. Thursday. In 30 days, they'll measure the success and decide how to proceed.
Additional FBI agents will be arriving in Chicago to fight violence as well. The FBI tells CBS 2 it's trying a new tactic: concentrating agents on the streets in different areas at different times to fight gun violence.
"This will be the first time they have worked specifically with our fugitive apprehension team," said Chicago Police Captain John Escalante. "It seems like they are excited for the opportunity to work with our people and our officers are excited to work with the troopers. At the end of the joint mission, I think you will see we accomplished some good things together."
