Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― It appeared Wednesday night that, despite the bickering between the governor and lawmakers, the mass transit bailout bill, with free rides for seniors, will pass Thursday.

CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine reports that sources close to the leadership of both chambers of the General Assembly said that the stakes are simply too high to let bad blood get in the way of a pretty good bill.

Mayor Richard M. Daley had some advice for lawmakers Wednesday, the day the House Mass Transit Committee backed Gov. Rod Blagojevich's plan to require that all Illinois senior citizens get free rides on mass transit. "Let's just get it done. Let's pass it. They have to pass this legislation," Daley said.

The mayor's advice mirrored that of those who be directly affected by fare hikes and service cuts.

"I just want it to be fixed," said one rider we spoke to.

Public hearings on the bill in Chicago on the eve of the big vote showed some lawmakers were still planning to vote against it on principle.

Illinois Rep. Fred Crespo (D-Hoffman Estates), who voted against the bill earlier this month, said the governor's last minute demand for free rides for seniors didn't help convince him to support the bill. "I'm going to have to vote no again. It's not so much no against this bill, it's no against the governor. What he is doing is wrong."

In a statement Wednesday night, the Governor said, "The bill lawmakers sent me was not one I supported because of its reliance on a sales tax hike. But with the change I made letting seniors ride public transportation for free, it's a better bill."

CTA rider Keith Brown said, "It just seems like a deal-breaker and I hope that doesn't happen."

The governor's plan just might have derailed the bailout, sources said, were it not for the Sunday deadline and a reluctance to incur the wrath of voters just before the Feb. 5 primary elections. 

If lawmakers do not approve new funding for the CTA within the next four days, fares will rise as high as $3.25 and 81 bus routes will be eliminated.

The bailout would call for a regional sales tax increase of 0.25 percent in Cook County and 0.5 percent in the collar counties; it would also increase the real estate transfer tax in Chicago. But Gov. Rod Blagojevich said he would only approve the plan if all Illinois senior citizens, those over the age of 65, were allowed to ride public trains and buses for free.

"We can't afford to have fare increases and service cuts this Sunday," Regional Transportation Authority Executive Director Steven Schlickman said at Wednesday's hearing. "It would be the worst thing to ever happen to transit in this region."

The hearing might have been a preview of Thursday's vote by the full Illinois House and Illinois Senate, with a 16-5 vote in favor of the bill.

Chicagoan Marge Campbell said, "We need to see that the job gets done. This city needs its public transportation, not cuts."

The bill originally passed both chambers by razor slim margins and conversations with those either heading for Springfield or already there seem to indicate those majorities were still there Wednesday night.

Things could change, but it appears right now that the intent is that by Thursday night a long-term solution to the mass transit funding crisis will be in place.

CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman and Mike Parker contributed to this report.

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