Chicago is now reportedly facing the possibility of losing federal transit funding after a horrifying incident in which a 26-year-old woman was doused with gasoline and set on fire aboard a city train—an attack the Trump administration says never should have happened. Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Administrator Marc Molinaro sent scathing letters Monday to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, both Democrats, accusing them of failing to keep the city’s public transportation system safe.
Molinaro demanded immediate action, warning that the federal government will not continue subsidizing a transit system that refuses to uphold basic safety standards. “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. He made clear that unless the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) increases its law enforcement presence promptly, the FTA is prepared to withhold federal funds.
The warning follows last month’s brutal, unprovoked attack on Bethany MaGee, who was set ablaze on a CTA train. The man charged in the attack, Lawrence Reed, had been arrested more than 70 times and carried 15 criminal convictions—raising immediate questions about how someone with such an extensive criminal history remained on Chicago’s streets. For federal officials, the case highlights what they describe as a breakdown in public safety resulting from local leaders’ refusal to enforce laws aggressively.
Molinaro’s letter demands that Chicago and Illinois officials “implement immediate, measurable, corrective actions to reduce assaults on transit workers and passengers and to address unsafe conditions contributing to elevated violent crime rates.” He stressed that the attack on MaGee “has shaken not only Chicago but also every community that depends on public transportation.”
“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.”
The data presented by Molinaro paints a dire picture. Violent crime on Chicago’s transit system is reportedly four times the national average, with assaults on passengers rising 150 percent over the past five years. While many Chicago residents have long voiced concerns about safety on public transportation, the letter marks one of the strongest federal rebukes yet of the city’s leadership.
Molinaro directed officials to update CTA safety plans and adopt stronger measures to confront violent crime. But whether those directives will be embraced remains unclear. Pritzker and other Democrats have repeatedly downplayed Chicago’s crime rates, often suggesting that high crime is simply a normal feature of large cities. Federal officials, however, argue that such excuses no longer hold up as violent incidents escalate and riders feel increasingly unsafe.
For now, the message from Washington is unmistakable: clean up the transit system—or risk losing the federal dollars that keep it running.
