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Chicago commuters watched in horror as a young woman, identified as 26-year-old Bethany MaGee, was allegedly doused in gasoline and set on fire aboard a CTA Blue Line train on November 17, 2025. The accused, 50-year-old Lawrence Reed, was arrested the next day and now faces federal terrorism and other charges as investigators piece together the terrifying attack. This was not an isolated act by a stranger with no record — it was another preventable tragedy that exposes the deadly consequences of letting dangerous people back onto the streets.
Reports make clear Reed was no first-time offender; authorities say he had been arrested dozens of times over decades and was on electronic monitoring after an earlier aggravated-battery arrest when this happened. Prosecutors had asked a judge to keep him detained, warning he posed a real threat, but the judge denied that request and released him on pretrial supervision. The system that was supposed to protect the public instead created the opportunity for another life-changing crime.
This case has reignited criticism of Illinois’ SAFE‑T Act and the Pretrial Fairness Act that effectively eliminated cash bail, because it ties judges’ hands and has turned electronic monitoring into a false promise of safety. Law enforcement and victims’ advocates are rightly furious after court records showed Reed repeatedly violated his curfew in the days before MaGee was burned, yet the program’s alerts were not acted upon in time. When prosecutors beg to keep violent offenders off the street and judges refuse, citizens pay the price.
Enough of the excuses about “reform” when reform means our families, our commuters, and our children face new dangers every day. Electronic monitoring is useful for low-risk defendants, but it is woefully inadequate when judges release career criminals who have shown a pattern of violence and disregard for the law. If alerts are ignored, curfews violated, and judges default to release, the public loses faith in the promise of justice and safety.
Conservatives who champion law and order should demand immediate, practical fixes: restore judicial discretion to detain truly dangerous defendants, return electronic monitoring to trained law-enforcement oversight, and pass legislation to ensure prosecutors’ detention requests carry real weight. Political leaders who cheer these “reforms” must be held accountable for the carnage their policies enable; the public will not forget who stood between them and safety — and who stepped aside.
Hardworking Americans deserve streets and transit they can ride without fear, not rhetoric and torpor from politicians who prioritize ideology over common sense. It’s time to wake up, vote out the officials who defend these policies, and elect leaders who will put victims and communities first instead of coddling repeat offenders.
