Federal authorities have intervened to detain a 50-year-old man suspected of lighting a woman on fire on a Chicago train, claiming in court documents that the state’s judicial system failed to contain a violent offender who had been released pending trial under Illinois’ cashless bail laws.
Lawrence Reed is now facing federal charges of terrorism against a mass transit system in connection with the November 17 incident on the CTA Blue Line. Prosecutors claim Reed doused a female passenger in gasoline and lit it, leaving her hospitalized with severe burns.
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The incident has renewed debate over the Illinois Safety, Accountability, Fairness, and Equity-Today (SAFE-T) Act, which Governor J.B. Pritzker signed in 2021. The statute made Illinois the first state to eliminate cash bail, prioritizing pretrial release conditions such as electronic monitoring over monetary bonds.
Reed was free at the time of the attack, according to court documents and local news, despite having a lengthy criminal history spanning three decades, including 72 arrests and eight felony convictions. Most recently, he was jailed in August for allegedly hitting a social worker with enough force to induce a concussion and chipped teeth.
During the initial hearing on the assault charge, Cook County prosecutors recommended custody. However, Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez authorized Reed’s release under electronic monitoring, citing the SAFE-T Act’s limits.
“I can’t keep everybody in jail because the State’s Attorney wants me to,” Molina-Gonzalez reportedly told prosecutors at the time.
Following Reed’s release, another court eliminated the electronic monitoring requirement, imposing a basic curfew despite accusations that he had repeatedly violated pretrial restrictions.
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) questioned the state’s handling of Reed in a motion for federal custody filed on Thursday. According to the complaint, Reed had already been sentenced to probation for an arson attack on a Chicago building in 2020.
“Defendant has been leniently treated in state court, including receiving probationary sentences for violent offenses and pre-trial release for a victim-involved crime,” the DOJ motion stated. “In exchange for such lenient treatment, defendant has consistently re-offended and delved further into criminality.”
Federal prosecutors found that the state system was “unable to contain the defendant’s violent crimes,” requiring federal action. Laura McNally, a US magistrate judge, ordered Reed’s arrest on Friday. Reed has decided not to hire legal representation for the federal case.
Governor Pritzker, who earlier advocated for the SAFE-T Act as a vital change to prevent affluent offenders from paying their way out of jail while nonviolent offenders remained confined, addressed the situation on Friday.
Pritzker indicated to the press that he was open to rethink certain portions of the law.
“Sometimes bills get passed and everybody that votes for it knows that there needs to be a trailer bill or a tweak that needs to be made afterward,” Pritzker said. “So I think everybody is open to listening to what changes might need to be made.”
