Chicago could lose federal funding after a 26-year-old woman was set on fire on the city’s train system in what the Trump administration described as a “preventable attack.”
Federal Transit Administration Administrator Marc Molinaro sent letters on Monday to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Democratic Governor JB Pritzker, directing them to immediately enhance safety on public transportation. Molinaro said that officials had failed to take the necessary steps to keep the public safe.
“Creating a safe, reliable transit system is the responsibility of leaders at every level. CTA, the City of Chicago, and the State of Illinois have failed to meet this obligation,” Molinaro wrote. “If CTA does not promptly increase its law enforcement presence, FTA will act, including by withholding federal funds.”
The letter comes after Bethany MaGee was doused in gasoline and set ablaze in an unprovoked attack on a Chicago train last month. Lawrence Reed, the man charged in the attack, had previously been arrested more than 70 times and had 15 criminal convictions.
The letter said that officials needed to “implement immediate, measurable, corrective actions to reduce assaults on transit workers and passengers and to address unsafe conditions contributing to elevated violent crime rates.”
“The horrific attack on Bethany MaGee onboard a CTA train has shaken not only Chicago but also every community that depends on public transportation. As FTA Administrator, I call on you as an elected leader and on Chicago transit officials to take decisive action on safety issues that lead to such tragedies.”
“I will not accept the brutal assault of an innocent 26-year-old woman as an inevitable cost of providing public transportation,” Molinaro added. “The attack on Ms. MaGee was preventable. Transit leaders and elected officials who fail to enforce basic laws and permit disorder to erode the integrity of their systems are making deliberate choices that endanger riders.”
According to Molinaro, violent crime on Chicago’s public transportation system is four times the national average, and assaults on passengers have surged 150% in the last five years.
Molinaro directed Chicago officials to update the city’s public transportation agency safety plans and adopt appropriate measures to address violent crime. Pritzker and other Democratic officials have long downplayed crime rates in the Windy City, claiming high crime is part of being a big city.
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