The Trump administration is threatening to withhold federal funds if the Chicago Transit Authority doesn’t increase the presence of law enforcement in the wake of a recent attack in which a woman was set on fire while riding a train.
In letters addressed to Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker, the Federal Transit Administration takes the city and state to task for the attack on Bethany MaGee last month.
“Creating a safe, reliable transit system is the responsibility of leaders at every level,” FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro says in a letter sent late Monday to Johnson. “CTA, the city of Chicago and the state of Illinois have failed to meet this obligation. If CTA does not promptly increase its law enforcement presence, FTA will act, including by withholding federal funds.”
It’s the latest dispute between the White House and the Johnson and Pritzker, including an attempt to deploy the National Guard to Chicago to deal with crime and the Department of Transportation’s threat to withhold $2 billion in funding for the extension of the CTA’s Red Line because of minority-contracting provisions.
Johnson’s press secretary Cassio Mendoza confirmed the administration received the letter from the FTA. The city’s Law Department is reviewing the letter but has yet to respond, he said.
The mayor has traditionally controlled the CTA through the appointment of board members and nomination of the authority’s president, although that’s set to change. Currently, the mayor has four appointees to the seven-member board, and the governor has three.
Molinaro said in his letter that the attack on MaGee, which made headlines nationwide, was evidence of broader problems at the CTA.
"Given high crime rates on CTA property, this incident is not isolated and reflects systemic failures in both leadership and accountability at all levels and cannot be tolerated,” his letter says. "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.
Molinaro said the CTA failed to update its Public Transportation Agency Safety Plan and “maintain a safe operating environment for workers and passengers, including failing to implement adequate mitigations to address a years-long pattern of elevated assaults on workers and riders, and serious violent crime.”
He said the CTA must update its safety plan by the end of December and “develop a verifiable security-enhancement plan” that must be submitted to the Federal Transit Authority for approval.
"The CTA is in receipt of a Special Directive from the Federal Transit Administration. We have reviewed the document and will respond within the requested timeline," the CTA said in a written statement.
— Justin Laurence contributed.
