Pritzker, Johnson respond to federal funding 'threat' over transit
safety
[December 11, 2025]
By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – After the Federal Transit Administration ordered
the Chicago Transit Authority to develop a security enhancement plan,
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the Illinois General Assembly has already taken
action to protect public transit.
The FTA sent a letter to Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson on
Monday, demanding that the CTA “develop and implement a plan to
measurably reduce assaults on transit workers and passengers and address
unsafe conditions that have contributed to increased crime on CTA’s bus
and rail system.”
The letter cited statistics reported by the CTA to the National Transit
Database, indicating the rate of assaults against transit workers on CTA
rail and bus service exceeded the national average of comparable transit
agencies every year since fiscal year 2015.
The FTA said assaults against customers on CTA vehicles and property
have increased 150% in the past five years.
Federal Transit Administrator Marc Molinaro advised Pritzker and Johnson
that federal funds will be withheld if the CTA does not take immediate
action to increase its law enforcement presence.
Pritzker was asked about the letter Tuesday at an unrelated bill-signing
press conference in Chicago.
“This is the federal government threatening state and local government
with taking away federal funds for a purpose that they’re not allowed
to,” Pritzker said.
The governor said the General Assembly addressed public safety on the
CTA by passing legislation during the fall veto session.
“The legislature took monumental and very important action to protect
our transit system and, indeed, the security of the people on the
transit system,” Pritzker said.
Illinois lawmakers passed a $1.5 billion transit package in the early
morning hours on Halloween. Senate Bill 2111 authorizes the Regional
Transportation Authority to raise sales taxes by a quarter of a percent
in Cook County and the collar counties outside Chicago. It also
increases tolls on Illinois tollways and takes gas tax money from the
state’s road fund.
The FTA letter to Pritzker and Johnson followed a series of high-profile
incidents of violence on Chicago-area public transit.
On Nov. 17, a woman was critically injured when a man with a long
history of arrests allegedly set her on fire while she was riding a CTA
Blue Line train in downtown Chicago. President Donald Trump took note of
the incident.
“They burned this beautiful woman riding in a train,” the president
said.
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On Dec. 1, Forest Park Police responded to a reported battery after
being informed that an elderly male had been punched and was laying
on the elevated train tracks. Police said the victim narrowly
avoided the electrified third rail, and a nearby train operator was
able to stop and avoid hitting the man. A Chicago man was charged
with attempted murder in connection with the incident.
Previously, a Chicago man was charged with first-degree murder for
the September 2024 deaths of four CTA Blue Line riders in Forest
Park. On the same day the murder charges were announced, a CTA
worker was injured in a drive-by shooting outside the Howard station
on the CTA Red Line on Chicago’s North Side.
The FTA ordered the CTA to develop a security enhancement plan by
Dec. 15.
Johnson said Tuesday he planned to respond to the letter, even
though he said the Trump administration has trampled on the
Constitution.
“I don’t need a letter from the Trump administration to tell me what
my priorities are,” the mayor said.
When asked if it was time for CTA security personnel to carry guns,
Johnson said the decision should be made collectively and not “in
isolation.”
Daniel Betancourt spoke at a Chicago Flips Red press conference on
public safety last week. Betancourt said he works in Chicago but
does not support the policies of Pritzker and Johnson.
“The state should not be protecting criminals in the
catch-and-release program. We need to stand up. We need to voice our
opinions, and we need to come together,” Betancourt said.
At the same press conference, Chicago Flips Red Vice President
Danielle Carter-Walters said Johnson and his top administrators want
higher taxes but have failed to provide safety.
“They demand billions but can’t secure a single train car,”
Carter-Walters said.
In addition to a security enhancement plan, the FTA ordered the CTA
to update its Agency Safety Plan by the end of December and send the
plan to FTA within seven business days of approval by CTA’s Transit
Board Committee.
The FTA promised to provide “technical assistance” to help address
CTA safety.
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