ENGULFED
ENGULFED: The Chicago Train Inferno That Exposed a Statewide Crisis
A woman burned alive on her morning commute. Children shot at a Christmas tree lighting. Repeat offenders roaming free. Critics say Illinois’ governor defends a policy that protects the violent at the expense of the innocent—from Chicago to the smallest farm town.
By Staff Writer
November 29, 2025
It began like any ordinary morning—one of thousands across Illinois. A young woman commuting. A train rattling underground. A city waking up.
But at 8:12 a.m. on a Chicago Blue Line train, the state’s experiment with eliminating cash bail reached its most horrifying consequence yet.
Bethany MaGee, 26, a gentle small-town woman who moved to Chicago seeking opportunity, felt a cold splash hit her neck. She turned just as the flame ignited. Gasoline erupted into a roaring fireball that swallowed her head, face, and upper body. Her screams echoed through the train car.
Passengers watched in disbelief as she stumbled onto the platform, a human torch collapsing to the ground while strangers tore off their coats to smother the flames.
Behind her, police say, the man who lit the match—50-year-old Lawrence Reed, a repeat offender arrested more than 72 times—simply walked away.
Reed was only free because Illinois chose to let him be.
And that choice did not just fail Chicago.
It failed the entire state—every county, every suburb, every small town, every family.
Illinois Has Become a State Where Violence No Longer Surprises Anyone
Bethany’s attack shocked the conscience of the nation, but to Illinois residents—who now live with an uneasy awareness that violence can erupt anywhere—it felt like a predictable outcome of a system that has stopped protecting the innocent.
Because this wasn’t the first horror.
Not even close.
Just days earlier, the annual Chicago Christmas Tree Lighting—a family tradition meant to usher in the holiday season—collapsed into chaos when gunfire erupted among the crowd. Children screamed and ducked. Families ran. Several people were hit as bullets tore through what was supposed to be a peaceful celebration.
The suspect?
Another individual with a long history of arrests and contacts with the justice system.
It was supposed to be a night of joy and unity.
Instead, it turned into yet another reminder that Illinois has become a place where even children at a holiday event are no longer safe.
And that is only one example.
Across the state:
In Peoria, a man on pretrial release was charged in a violent home invasion that left a grandmother hospitalized.
In Rockford, a released offender attacked a woman at a gas station, leaving her with permanent injuries.
In Madison County, police reported multiple violent assaults tied to individuals who would have been detained under the previous system.
In McHenry County, crimes committed by defendants on pretrial release surged 30% after the SAFE-T Act took effect.
In Champaign County, a man freed under the new law was later charged with the stabbing of two students.
This isn’t isolated.
This isn’t a coincidence.
This is the system Illinois created.
A Train Car on Fire—and a State in Denial
“That never happened back then… now it does because violent criminals walk free.”
— Former Governor Rod Blagojevich (D)
Illinois eliminated cash bail in 2023 under the SAFE-T Act, pushed and defended aggressively by Governor J.B. Pritzker. The governor promised “equity,” “fairness,” and “safety.”
Instead, critics say, he unleashed a legal framework that prioritizes the freedom of violent offenders over the safety of ordinary citizens.
Reed’s repeated monitoring violations were ignored.
The warnings were numerous.
The system did nothing.
Because under Pritzker’s law, judges are pressured to release, not detain.
And this was no Chicago-only failure—this is a statewide collapse.
A Billionaire Governor Protected From the Violence His Policies Created
Governor Pritzker is surrounded by layers of armed security, private protection, controlled environments, and taxpayer-funded safety—far removed from the CTA platforms, rural bus stops, or downtown sidewalks where Illinoisans actually live.
He does not:
Ride the Blue Line
Attend a city tree-lighting ceremony without dozens of guards
Walk alone to a parking garage at night
Wait at an unprotected suburban train platform
Sit beside strangers on a bus
Yet he insists, from behind security barriers, that the SAFE-T Act works.
Critics say his confidence isn’t courage—it’s insulation.
“It’s easy to gamble with safety,” said one longtime downstate sheriff, “when you’re never the one who pays the price.”
The people of Illinois do pay.
Every single day.
Brandon Johnson’s Hollow Admission—and the System He Defended
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called Bethany’s attack “a failure.”
But the system he criticizes is the same system he championed for years.
Violence has mushroomed under policies designed to favor offenders:
Children shot at a Christmas tree lighting
Commuters set on fire on their way to work
Women attacked by offenders who should have been detained
Stabbings, beatings, and assaults by individuals released despite clear warnings
Chicago is not an anomaly.
It is the epicenter of a crisis radiating across the state.
Every County, Every Town, Every Family Pays the Price
In downstate counties—from Effingham to Williamson, Tazewell to Adams—law enforcement reports the same pattern:
Repeat offenders back on the streets
Courts unable to detain
Violations ignored
Victims blindsided
Families living in fear
Illinois now detains only 27% of dangerous cases.
The rest—73%—walk free under conditions the state rarely enforces.
Bethany’s tragedy didn’t happen because of one mistake.
It happened because of a series of deliberate decisions made by powerful people who never face the risks they impose on their citizens.
Bethany’s Fight for Life—and the Unanswered Question
Inside Stroger Hospital, Bethany lies wrapped in dressings, machines whirring around her as doctors attempt to save her life. Her family keeps vigil, devastated, asking the same question every Illinois family now asks:
Why did our state free a man with 72 arrests
knowing he was dangerous,
knowing he violated monitoring,
knowing the risk—
and why does our governor call this system “fair” and “safe”?
Because if this is safety—
what does failure look like?
Illinois Stands on a Cliff — And Its Leaders Are Still Telling Citizens Not to Look Down
The SAFE-T Act was supposed to bring justice.
Instead, Illinois residents now live in a state where:
A girl can be set on fire on her way to work
Children can be shot at a Christmas tree lighting
Families can be attacked in their homes
Violent offenders walk free despite endless warnings
And while leaders hold press conferences insisting the system works—
their citizens bleed.
So the question remains:
How many more Bethany MaGees must burn?
How many more tree-lighting ceremonies must end in gunfire?
How many more Illinois families must be destroyed
before leaders admit the experiment has failed?
Official Sources
U.S. Department of Justice – Federal criminal complaint against Lawrence Reed (May 2025)
Cook County Circuit Court electronic records – Reed criminal history & pretrial conditions
Illinois General Assembly – SAFE-T Act (Public Act 101-0652) & subsequent trailer bills
Chicago Police Department arrest reports (1995–2025)
Office of the Cook County Chief Judge – Public statements & review after the Blue Line attack
Official statements from Governor J.B. Pritzker, Mayor Brandon Johnson & former Gov. Rod Blagojevich
Hospital updates provided jointly by Stroger Hospital & Chicago Fire Department (May 2025)
Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA) – SAFE-T Act implementation analyses
Office of Statewide Pretrial Services (OSPS) – Pretrial investigations, detention petitions & FOA data (Sept 2023–June 2025)
Civic Federation of Chicago – Pretrial outcomes & jail population reports (2021–2025)
Loyola University Chicago – Pretrial Fairness Act impact reports
Chicago Police Department – Violent crime trends (2021–2025)
CPD & OEMC updates regarding the Chicago Christmas Tree Lighting shooting (2025)
County sheriff reports from McHenry, Peoria, Madison, St. Clair & Rockford regional police briefings (2024–2025)
