Mayor Brandon Johnson said Thursday that an “absolute failure” of the criminal justice and mental health systems allowed a “seriously disturbed” man with a history of dozens of felony charges to douse a woman with gasoline, authorities say, and light her on fire aboard the CTA’s Blue Line.
A day after Lawrence Reed, 50, was hit with terrorism charges never before brought to Chicago’s federal court, Johnson tried to reassure passengers and the public, and prevent the horrific crime from sending CTA ridership plummeting.
“This is an absolute failure of our criminal justice system as well as our mental health institutions,” Mayor Brandon Johnson told a City Hall press conference.
“This individual was charged with dozens of felonies over the past three decades. He was clearly seriously mentally disturbed and was a danger to himself and to others. The system that we had failed to intervene. And now we have a woman who is fighting for her life and I am praying for her and her full recovery. This is a horrific tragedy that should have never happened.”
Federal authorities say Reed approached a 26-year-old woman scrolling through her phone on a CTA Blue Line train Monday night, doused her with gasoline, set her on fire and then allegedly watched her burn. The attack was captured on surveillance video that’s likely to be made public, federal prosecutors said.
A CTA system that has been slower than other major cities to recover from the pandemic currently provides roughly one million rides per day, the mayor said.
“It is critical in this moment that we reassure riders and make the necessary investments so that riders and workers feel safe on our trains,” he said.
Johnson said the $1.5 billion mass transit rescue package passed by state lawmakers in October includes “additional funding for public safety, mental health and homeless services” for CTA buses and trains. But the CTA has said it doesn’t expect to start receiving the first infusion of that new money until mid or late 2026.
“I do believe it’s critical in this moment that we expedite those dollars so that we can immediately take strong action that will ensure that nothing like this ever happens again,” the mayor said. “That funding that we need from Springfield — I know people are looking at a year from now. But we’re calling on Springfield to send that with some expediency.”
But Johnson offered no specifics when asked to pinpoint what “safety measures” he hopes to implement with the cash infusion from Springfield.
“Well again, this is an awful, awful, awful tragic incident and safety as a whole I my top priority — not just for public transportation,” the mayor said. “There are appropriations that have been dedicated specifically around safety, but even more specifically around homelessness and mental health services. So now, we have a governing structure that will allow for all voices to come together and think strategically about where those investments should rest.”
The mayor said he expects at least some of the money to be used to ensure that unhoused residents are “not relying upon the public transportation system as temporary housing.”
Reed has been arrested at least 40 times since 1993, court records show.
He already faces an aggravated battery charge in an Aug. 19 attack at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn, Cook County court records show. He was accused of knocking out a social worker after slapping her in the face while he was a mental patient at the hospital. A judge freed Reed on electronic monitoring.
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