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.
Federal Transit Authority Administrator Marc Molinaro sent a letter Monday to Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker 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.
