Politics
Trump Administration Threatens CTA Funding Over Security Measures After Arson Attack on Blue Line Train
Surveillance footage allegedly showing Lawrence Reed holding a flaming bottle onboard a CTA Blue Line train on Nov. 17, 2025. (U.S. Attorney's Office)
Federal transit authorities have threatened to withhold CTA funding over reports of “high crime rates” on Chicago’s bus and train lines, weeks after a woman was set on fire on board a Blue Line train downtown.
In letters sent to both Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker, the Federal Transit Administration on Sunday issued a special directive calling for “immediate, measurable corrective actions” aimed at reducing violent crime and addressing “unsafe conditions.”
“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,” Federal Transit Administrator Marc Molinaro wrote in the letters. “If CTA does not promptly increase its law enforcement presence, FTA will act, including by withholding federal funds.”
The letter repeatedly cites the high-profile attack on 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, who was doused with gasoline at random and light on fire as she rode a CTA Blue Line train last month. She survived and continues recovering from her critical injuries.
Lawrence Reed, who has been accused of the attack, has a lengthy criminal background and was out of jail on electronic monitoring at the time. He now faces a federal terrorism charge. Already local officials including Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke and Chief Judge Charles Beach have called for improvements to that monitoring system.
“The attack on Ms. MaGee was preventable,” Molinaro wrote. “Transit leaders and elected officials who fail to enforce basic law and permit disorder to erode the integrity of their systems are making deliberate choices that endanger riders.”
Through its directive, the FTA has demanded that Chicago transit leaders immediately: update the CTA’s safety plan by the end of December, develop a “verifiable security enhancement plan” by Dec. 15, and implement that revised plan by Dec. 19.
Sunday’s letters mark the latest threat made against Illinois and Chicago officials by the Trump administration, which has for months claimed that rampant violence in the city requires the deployment of National Guard troops into Chicago.
Violent crime in the city has in fact dropped precipitously in 2025, with homicides down 29% and total shootings down 35% compared to last year, according to city data. Violent crime on CTA lines is also down 3%, Chicago Police Department data shows.
Pritzker on Tuesday argued that the Trump administration is threatening to withhold the funding “for a purpose that they’re not allowed to.” He also pointed to the state’s recently passed transit funding bill the state legislature passed, which he said included “monumental and very important action to protect our transit system.”
“There’s no reason why the president of the United States or the Department of Transportation should be sending a threatening letter to the state when they know full well … that action has been taken, is being taken,” he said at an unrelated press conference. “We want the safest possible and most modern transit system in the entire country and that’s what we’re prepared to implement.”
