(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.
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.
