Chicago Janitor Fatally Stabbed by Suspect on Electronic Monitoring

A Chicago man, Chevazz Campbell, 37, is accused of fatally stabbing a Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) janitor while he was on electronic monitoring for two pending felony retail theft cases, prosecutors stated Sunday.

Campbell has a criminal record with 11 offenses between 2014 and 2026, including retail theft, aggravated battery, and use of a deadly weapon. In one 2018 incident, he allegedly slashed a teenager's neck with a box cutter.

CTA workers and the Cook County State's Attorney's office have called for reforms to the state's electronic monitoring system, citing that Campbell had violated his curfew four times prior to the alleged murder.

"There is not effective monitoring or proactive enforcement when someone is unaccounted for, and that poses a grave risk to public safety," a statement from the CTA workers union and the State's Attorney's office read. "We need a permanent legislative solution to close these gaps, strengthen accountability, and better protect people."

Prosecutors allege that on Thursday, Campbell entered the Damen Green Line Station and attempted to evade fare payment by jumping a gate. He then reportedly got into an argument with a CTA employee, using racial slurs. Janitor Julian Mobley, 41, intervened in the dispute.

Surveillance footage indicates Campbell exited the station, retrieved an item from his bag, and re-entered. He then allegedly sprayed Mobley with mace twice before pursuing and stabbing him in the neck with a knife. Campbell fled the scene as Mobley made his way to a janitor's closet, prosecutors said. Mobley was later pronounced dead at a hospital.

Mobley, who had been married for 20 years, had worked as a CTA janitor for eight years.