Federal Transit Administration threatens funding if CTA does not improve security
Mayor Brandon Johnson and Gov. JB Pritzker are pushing back on the Trump administration's latest threats to withhold federal funding from the CTA unless the mass transit agency meets the federal government's demands for safety changes.
In letters to the mayor and governor, the Federal Transit Administration accused the CTA of failing to protect riders and workers, citing last month's attack on 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, who was set on fire on a Blue Line train in downtown Chicago.
"Creating a safe, reliable transit system is the responsibility of leaders at every level," FTA Administrator Marc Molinaro wrote in the letters. "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."
Johnson and Pritzker had fiery responses to the latest threats from the FTA, with the governor calling the Trump administration's threat illegal.
"This is the federal government threatening state and local government with taking away federal funds for a purpose that they're not allowed to, but we have seen that before from Donald Trump," Pritzker said.
The mayor said, while improving safety on the CTA is a priority for him, it's about more than simply increasing police presence on the system.
"As I've said repeatedly, we do have to look at what the security apparatus looks like for public transportation. [The Chicago Police Department] plays a role in that. The city Department of Public Health plays a role in that. All of us play a role in ensuring that CTA riders experience maximum safety," he said. "I don't need a letter from the Trump administration to tell me what my priorities are, because we've already made them clear what our priorities are, and we certainly do not need an administration that continues to politicize on what really could be addressed collectively."
Feds want to see "security enhancement plan" from CTA next week
The FTA has given the Chicago Transit Authority until next week to submit and implement a new security plan for the mass transit system.
In a "special directive" accompanying the letters, the FTA said the CTA has failed to update its annual agency safety plan and has not put adequate measures in place to address what they call a years-long pattern of violence.
The directive from the Trump administration called on the CTA to update its annual safety plan by the end of the year, "develop and submit a security enhancement plan" for federal approval by Dec. 15, and to implement that security enhancement plan in full by Dec. 19. That plan must significantly increase security or law enforcement presence on the CTA, and set specific crime reduction targets for each of the next six months.
"FTA will receive submissions and monitor CTA's progress in resolving each finding and required action. FTA will conduct scheduled meetings with CTA to review its progress until such time as FTA determines that these meetings are no longer needed or may be conducted with less frequency. FTA also may conduct onsite inspections and assessments to confirm implementation of required actions," the directive states.
Pritzker said action already has been taken to enhance safety on the CTA. The Illinois General Assembly included new safety measures when they passed a mass transit funding bill in October, including a law enforcement task force led by the Cook County Sheriff's Office.
"We want the safest possible and most modern transit system in the entire country and that's what we are prepared to implement," the governor said.
Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd), who represents a large swath of downtown Chicago, including the Blue Line station where MaGee was attacked, said CTA should bring in sworn police officers to patrol trains, rather than rely on private security.
"I think the CTA should consider jettisoning their security contract. They should be using CPD officers on an overtime program, and have them actually deployed onto trains from time to time," Reilly said.
Johnson reiterated that his strategies for improving safety on the CTA go beyond adding law enforcement.
"Making sure that our public transportation system is supported with entities that address homelessness as well as mental health; it's a full force of government approach," he said.
Data analyzed by the CBS News Data Team showed, so far this year, there have been 834 violent crimes on CTA trains, buses, and properties, a 6.4% decrease from the same time last year, when there had been 891 violent crimes. About 19% of crimes resulted in an arrest this year, on par with the 20% average this past decade.
Violent crime, while down slightly this year from last, is higher than it was 10 years ago, up roughly 65% from 2015. Even so, Chicago is around levels last seen in 2012, when there were 892 violent incidents on the CTA.
A CTA spokesperson said they plan to respond to the FTA's demands by the deadline, but declined to provide specifics.
It's not the first time the Trump administration has threatened federal funding for the CTA. In October, White House budget director Russ Vought said the federal government would pause $2.1 billion for two long-awaited construction projects – the extension of the Red Line on the South Side, and the modernization of the Red and Purple lines on the north Side – "to ensure funding is not flowing via race-based contracting."
Johnson said the CTA is prepared to sue the Trump administration over the pause in funding for those two projects.