Trump admin defends funding threats over CTA safety
Trump admin defends funding threats over CTA safety
The Chicago Transit Authority has a week to meet the Trump administration’s demands to improve safety on its system or risk losing federal funding.
CHICAGO - The Chicago Transit Authority has a week to meet the Trump administration’s demands to improve safety on its system or risk losing federal funding.
What we know:
The head of the Federal Transit Authority, Marc Molinaro, spoke exclusively to Fox 32 and said the feds are on solid ground to withhold tens of millions of dollars in funding for train and bus operations unless the CTA improves safety across the system.
Molinaro wrote a letter this week to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker to demand an enhanced safety plan by Monday of next week, or else risk losing the money.
What they're saying:
Pritzker said the threat is illegal, but Molinaro said not so much.
"There are multiple steps that can be taken," Molinaro said. "Prevention, intervention, diversion and enforcement. We want the city, we want the system and we want the state to take seriously this problem, develop an all of the above approach to drive down incidents of assault and provide for operator and rider safety. That's what we're seeking. We have every right to ask it. President Trump and [Transportation] Sec. [Sean] Duffy have made very clear that rider and operator safety is our priority and for us at the FTA, that is not going to be questioned. We're not gonna get jerked around by anybody anywhere. We want systems to be safe for the riding public and the people who operate those systems."
Molinaro said he’s encouraged by the recent $1.5 billion transit overhaul bill passed last month in Springfield, but said he wants to see more immediate action.
Johnson has said he’d weigh his legal options before a formal response.
He also cited the Loop burning of Bethany Magee as the impetus for the letter, and said the rates of violence against Chicago riders and operators on transit are higher than in other big cities. Even if there’s been a moderate drop in Chicago this year, Johnson said he believes the Trump administration is once again trying to pick a political fight with one of his favorite foes rather than trying to genuinely help.
"Every single lawsuit that he has filed against us, we've prevailed and we've beat it," Johnson said. "And every single lawsuit that we have administered against the Trump administration, we've prevailed. We take his threats absolutely seriously. And the president needs to work on being a partner with American cities and not as an adversary."
What's next:
The city has Monday to respond to Molinaro.