Legislators may also tinker with transit plan

SPRINGFIELD -- A suburban supporter of an apparent state mass transit bailout said Friday he fears "the wheels are going to fall off the train" if lawmakers have to vote on it again and there's no deal for statewide construction spending.

State Rep. Sidney Mathias, a Buffalo Grove Republican, said he didn't know if he'd vote for the deal again, citing both the need to invest in road, bridge and school building and questioning the governor's last-minute changes.

On Thursday, lawmakers narrowly approved a quarter-percentage-point increase to the sales tax in the suburbs and Chicago along with a higher real estate transfer tax increase in the city in order to come up with millions of dollars to bail out area train and bus agencies. Sales taxes in DuPage, Lake, McHenry, Kane and Will counties would increase another quarter-point on top of that.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich agreed to go along with the deal and break his campaign promises not to raise sales taxes, with one hitch -- lawmakers must allow senior citizens to ride for free.

That means the deal that was months in the making, and approved only after political arm twisting, now returns to the House and Senate for another round of votes with a Jan. 20 mass transit meltdown looming ever closer.

On the surface, it would seem like a fairly minor and politically palatable tweak that could be easily approved before the transit doomsday results in fare hikes, route cuts and hundreds of layoffs.

But many downstate lawmakers are adamant that they won't support it until there's also a construction spending deal that includes their areas. And judging from several suburban supporters responses, it's now questionable if the bailout can pass again.

Mathias said the senior perk raises new issues.

"A senior who makes $100,000 a year can ride the buses and trains for free," he said. "And yet, our disabled community still has to pay a premium."

State Rep. Elaine Nekritz, a Northbrook Democrat, also voted for the bailout. But she, too, preferred the plan without the governor's senior perk.

"Here's the trouble that I have: My husband is over the age of 65. … He would ride for free. But he's a partner at a big firm downtown. I don't know why we should be penalizing a minimum-wage worker when he (my husband) could be riding for free," Nekritz said.

Other suburban supporters, however, said they still plan to vote for the deal.

State Sen. Kirk Dillard, a Hinsdale Republican and one of only three GOP senators to support the bailout, said Friday he had received 124 e-mails, letters and calls from constituents who agreed with his vote.

"If he wants to give senior citizens free rides, if that's what it takes to get the governor to sign the bill, then I guess I'm OK with it," Dillard said.

But state Rep. Linda Chapa LaVia, an Aurora Democrat, urged the governor to leave the original bailout intact and give lawmakers more time to follow up with possible improvements.

"If I had a magical wand, I'd ask the governor to sign the bill as is and give us a month to breathe," said Chapa LaVia, who voted for the deal. "Let's hear from the constituents and come back in February to make a sound decision."

A Blagojevich spokeswoman made it clear that would not happen.

"Nope. The governor's only accepting the sales tax plan with a plan to minimize the impact on seniors," said Rebecca Rausch. "He doesn't like the sales tax increase. The only way this is happening is with this improvement."

Rausch said the governor plans to address disabled riders in his state budget proposal next month.