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The city of Chicago needs to beef up security or risk losing federal funding for public transportation after a man allegedly attacked a woman. Fire inside a commuter train in November.
President Donald Trump’s administration sent a letter to Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor JB Pritzker on Monday, demanding the Chicago Transit Authority develop and implement an updated safety plan by Dec. 19. The letter from Federal Transit Authority Administrator Mark Molinaro did not call for any specific changes.
The demand comes after a man riding the Blue Line L commuter train on Nov. 17 bathed the co-traveller bethany magi With gasoline from plastic drink bottles while she was sitting with her back to him, according to court filings. He then chased her from the train car and set her on fire. The man then got off the train at the next stop in downtown Chicago and walked away, while 26-year-old Magee staggered out and fell to the ground. She suffered severe burns but survived.
Police arrested Lawrence Reed, 50, of Chicago the next morning. Federal prosecutors charged him with committing a terrorist attack, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison. Online court records did not list an attorney for him.
Information provided to The Associated Press by Cook County Circuit Court shows that more than 60 criminal cases have been filed against Reed since 1993, ranging from traffic, trespassing and drug possession offenses to more serious charges involving violent behavior — including at least 15 battery and assault counts and at least two arson counts.
At the time of the train attack, Reed was on electronic monitoring in an active battery case. Authorities say he attacked a hospital social worker in the face in August.
The Cook County Chief Judge’s office pointed to state law that strictly prohibits judges from denying the release of defendants before their trials.
Molinaro said in his letter that it was “unconscionable” that Reed was released in the battery case and that the attack on Magee “reflects systemic failures in both leadership and accountability at all levels that cannot be tolerated.”
“I will not accept the brutal attack of an innocent 26-year-old woman as an unavoidable cost of providing public transportation,” he wrote.
Asked for comment, Chicago Transit Authority officials responded with an email saying the agency had received the letter and “will respond within the requested timeframe.” The email did not elaborate. The AP also left messages with the mayor’s and governor’s offices Tuesday morning.
Chicago and other Democratic-led cities have been the focus of intense criticism of Trump and his administration, who have described them as crime-ridden despite a sharp decline in violent crime following a pandemic-era surge.
In October the administration announced it was blocking $2.1 billion for Chicago infrastructure projects, including expansion plans for the Red Line L commuter train. The project would have installed stops in some of the poorest areas of the city. White House budget officials then said that they wanted to ensure that funding did not go through race-based contracting. The administration blocked $18 billion for New York infrastructure that same week.
Pritzker has long been one of Trump’s most vocal critics. The president’s crackdown on immigrants has heightened tensions in Chicago. Pritzker has opposed Trump’s deployment of the National Guard, and Trump called the governor a “fat fool” during his formal Thanksgiving turkey pardon.