Daley blames governor for transit woes

Mayor Richard Daley says if the Chicago Transit Authority is forced to raise fares next year, riders will have Gov. Rod Blagojevich to blame.

Daley is pointing at the free rides for seniors as a reason the CTA tightened its bureaucratic belt by another $40 million this week to lay the political groundwork for a fare hike and service cuts.

Daley said Tuesday the agency's financial woes can be blamed partially on the governor's veto of the state's reduced fare subsidy, and his executive order mandating free rides for low-income people with disabilities. He said those problems were exacerbated by the Chicago City Council's decision to extend the freebie to active military personnel and disabled veterans.

Blagojevich spokesman Lucio Guerrero said attempts to saddle the governor with blame for an impending CTA fare hike ring hollow at a time when CTA ridership and revenues are up.