Chicago boosts transit police presence after renewed federal funding cut threat over crime

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — The Chicago Transit Authority bolstered security on the public transport system Friday, a day after President Donald Trump’s administration repeated its threat to withhold $50 million in federal funding if it didn’t deliver a more aggressive crime-cutting plan.

The Chicago Police Department increased its daily presence on the city’s transit system by 56%, from 77 to 120 officers. Private security K-9 units will jump 10% to 188.

A day earlier, the Federal Transit Administration delivered a letter to CTA President Nora Leerhsen demanding a more comprehensive plan for reducing crime than the one it submitted last Monday, chiding the CTA for failing to target significant drops in each of the next six months and ordering that a planned security “surge” be implemented immediately.

The administration demanded a crackdown after 26-year-old Bethany MaGee was doused with gasoline and set afire on a city L train in November. Federal prosecutors have charged 50-year-old Lawrence Reed of Chicago with a terrorist attack, which carries a maximum life sentence.

In Thursday’s letter, the administration said the CTA’s plan failed to meet federal demands that it set targets for fewer assaults of staff and riders for each of the next six months and to increase security. It said CTA monthly goals for limiting assaults on staff and riders were identical for January through March.

“By proposing flat targets for the entire first quarter of the Dec. 15 plan, CTA has failed to set targets showing reductions for ‘each’ month as ordered,” Federal Transit Administration chief Marcus Molinaro wrote.

Molinaro added that the agency “requires full implementation of the security surge” so that “the impact of increased law enforcement presence should be immediate” and evident in crime-cut targets going forward.

The CTA has 90 days to satisfy the federal government’s demands or go without funding.

CTA spokesperson Catherine Hosinski would not comment on ongoing discussions with federal officials, but she noted that the transit system’s budget approved in early November included $5 million for increased security.

The surge increases the presence of Chicago police officers who volunteer for the duty on their days off. It is in addition to regular police patrol of CTA property.

Chicago police officers “are at the core of CTA’s multilayered security strategy,” Leerhsen said in a statement. “We expect the additional police and K-9 presence on our system to further increase security visibility.”

According to police, the number of violent crimes reported at CTA locations in 2025 through Thursday was 933, down 18 from 2024.

A statewide transit overhaul signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker on Tuesday pumps $1.5 billion more into public transport annually and includes long-range safety and security initiatives.