Trump threatens funding for Chicago transit after woman set on fire
[December 10, 2025]
By TODD RICHMOND
President Donald Trump's administration is threatening to pull federal
funding for public transportation in Chicago unless the city tightens
security after a man allegedly set a woman on fire inside a commuter
train in November.
Gov. JB Pritzker’s office said in an email to The Associated Press on
Tuesday that Trump is politicizing “a heinous tragedy” while doing
nothing to make Illinois communities safer.
Federal Transit Authority Administrator Marc Molinaro sent a letter
Monday to Pritzker and Mayor Brandon Johnson demanding the Chicago
Transit Authority develop and implement an updated safety plan by Dec.
19. The letter did not call for any specific changes.
The demand comes after a man riding a Blue Line L commuter train on Nov.
17 doused fellow passenger Bethany MaGee with gasoline from a plastic
drink bottle as she sat with her back to him, according to court
filings. He then chased her through 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 as MaGee, 26, stumbled out and fell to the ground. She
suffered severe burns but survived.
Police arrested 50-year-old Lawrence Reed of Chicago the next morning.
Federal prosecutors charged him with committing a terrorist attack,
which carries a maximum sentence of life. Online court records did not
list an attorney for him.
Information provided to The Associated Press by the Cook County Circuit
Court shows more than 60 criminal cases 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 cases and at least two arson cases.
At the time of the train attack, Reed was on electronic monitoring in an
active battery case. Authorities say he hit a hospital social worker in
the face in August.
The Cook County chief judge’s office pointed to state law that limits
judges' ability to deny the release of defendants ahead of their trials.
Molinaro said in his letter that it was “unconscionable” that Reed was
released in the battery case and the attack on MaGee reflects “systemic
failures in both leadership and accountability on all levels that cannot
be tolerated.”
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“I will not accept the brutal assault of an innocent 26-year-old
woman as an inevitable cost of providing public transportation,” he
wrote.
Pritzker's office in its email pointed to a bill that Illinois
legislators passed in October that would create a law enforcement
task force to address public transit safety. The governor hasn't
taken any action on the bill yet, though, and if signed it would not
take effect until June.
Johnson said during a news conference that he takes the threat of
losing funding seriously and called on Trump to partner with
American cities rather than be an adversary.
“It's no secret here that President Trump spends more time thinking
about my job than actually doing his,” the mayor said.
Asked for comment, CTA officials responded with an email saying the
agency had received the letter and “will respond within the
requested timeline.” The email did not elaborate. The AP left a
message with the mayor’s office on Tuesday.
Chicago and other Democratic-led cities have been the focus of
intense criticism from Trump and his administration, who have
characterized them as crime-ridden despite steep drop in violent
crime after a pandemic-era spike.
The administration in October announced it was withholding $2.1
billion for Chicago infrastructure projects, including expansion
plans for the Red Line L commuter train. The project would have
established stops in some of the city's poorest neighborhoods. White
House budget officials said then that they wanted to ensure funding
wasn't moving through race-based contracting. The administration
withheld $18 billion for New York infrastructure the same week.
Pritzker has long been one of Trump's loudest critics. The
president's crackdown on immigrants in Chicago has only heightened
tensions. Pritzker has resisted Trump's National Guard deployment,
and Trump called the governor “a fat slob” during his ceremonial
Thanksgiving turkey pardons.
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