Are We There Yet?
SPRINGFIELD – State lawmakers Thursday passed a bill to fund Chicago-area mass
transit with a s
ales tax increase, but Gov. Blagojevich said he would sign it
only if lawmakers agreed to provide free bus and train rides for the state’s
senior citizens.
The governor’s unusual demand capped a frenetic 24-hour
round of legislative negotiating that raised hopes of an agreement to end the
monthslong funding fight and avert the Doomsday service cuts and fare hikes
scheduled for Jan. 20.
"What I will do is essentially take what I believe
to be a lemon and turn it into lemonade," Blagojevich said. "I’m going to
sweeten the bill, I’m going to improve the bill."
But the governor’s
decision sends the legislation back for further consideration in the House and
Senate.
"We can’t say that all’s well that ends well, because this is not
over yet," said Rep. Julie Hamos (D-Evanston).
Blagojevich had vowed
repeatedly to veto the sales tax-hike plan over the last year but began to
soften his opposition in recent weeks as it appeared lawmakers would send it to
him anyway. He said he saw the free rides as a way to ease the sting for people
on fixed incomes.
"This was the only option I had as we approached the
precipice," Blagojevich said at an afternoon news conference following the
bill’s one-two passage in the House and Senate.
Transit officials, who
pushed for the bill passed by lawmakers, stood next to the governor and
reluctantly supported his change. But they and their supporters worried that the
funding bill might not survive a second trip to the legislature next week. They
warned they would not abandon their plans for a Jan. 20 doomsday price increase
and route cuts until the legislation is final and signed.
"Until that
piece of paper is done, the wheels in motion continue," said CTA President Ron
Huberman. "I’m very, very optimistic, but we’ll see what happens."
Sen.
Christine Radogno (R-Lemont) called the idea of giving seniors free rides
ridiculous without establishing some income limits or other minimum
qualifications. She suggested the plan would allow a 66-year-old partner in a
prestigious law firm to ride free but require a fare from a "poor working mother
struggling to get to work."
The legislation would increase the sales tax
by a quarter of a percentage point in Cook County and a half percentage point in
the five collar counties. The sales tax package eventually would be worth $530
million.
The bill also would give Chicago the power to raise the city’s
real-estate transfer tax, a move that Realtors maintained would slap another
closing cost surprise on homeowners.
Blagojevich said he would not change
the bill’s tax provisions, but would add language requiring transit agencies to
allow people 65 and older to use "main line and fixed route public transit
service for free."
He said a senior using public transit twice a week
could save more than $150 a year on Chicagoland buses and $400 annually on
commuter trains. It would cost about $20 million a year, according to The
Associated Press.
Both the House and Senate would have to approve the
governor’s changes as written to enact them into law. Or they both could reject
the changes by super-majority votes, which would mean their original version
becomes law.
If both chambers don’t agree on whatever action to take, the
entire bill remains in limbo–and the CTA Doomsday scenario would begin Jan.
20.
With the exception of the governor’s new twist the legislation is
largely the same bill introduced during the 2007 spring session of the
legislature. But it quickly became mired in an ongoing, three-way power struggle
between Blagojevich and two fellow Democrats, House Speaker Michael Madigan and
Senate President Emil Jones.
Madigan said he wanted to "congratulate the
governor on breaking his campaign promise" not to raise income or sales taxes,
according to spokesman Steve Brown. The governor sought information about senior
ridership a month ago and could have settled the issue then without the
"additional razzle-dazzle," Brown said.
However, Madigan said he believes
lawmakers will approve the change and is surveying them for a convenient time to
return to Springfield for action, according to Brown.
