Lawmakers Take Another Crack At Funding Mass Transit

CHICAGO (WBBM) - A pair of high-level meetings are expected to take place Monday dealing with mass transit and infrastructure funding, and the casinos that appear to be a key to financing at least part of the package.

WBBM’s Bob Roberts and Craig Dellimore have details.

House Republican leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) said that he, Senate Republican leader Frank Watson (R-Greenville) and House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago) plan to participate in one strategy session, to be followed with a meeting of the legislative leaders with Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

The clock continues to tick for the Chicago area's financially-strapped transit agencies. 

Pace Chairman Richard Kwasneski said he is impatient for a breakthrough, and says he's seen little evidence of productive negotiations and even less from the multitude of special legislative sessions Blagojevich has called, ostensibly to address transit and infrastructure issues.

"These sessions are basically a wase of taxpayers' dollars," Kwasneski said.  "I mean, they're down there and they don't work anything out."

But Cross said he has seen plenty of positive movement in the negotiations, even when it comes to Speaker Madigan.

"I think there's been a good bit of movement.  I think there's been compromise," Cross said.  "The Cross, Madigan and Watson meetings have, I think, been positive."

Speaker Madigan has been seen by some as a somewhat reluctant participant, but Cross disagrees. 

"I think he has been wiling to compromise," Cross said.

Although the next "doomsday" is seven weeks off, the CTA and its unions need agreement this month in order to preserve five-year labor contracts that restructure the CTA's faltering pension plan and provide for far greater worker contributions to both health care and pensions.

The contracts are void Jan. 1 unless an agreement is reached, and at least one CTA union leader has threatened a strike if nothing is done. 
Cross concedes the urgency of the talks.

"We getting close to crunch time, or we're at crunch time," he said. 
Kwasneski said the ongoing stalemate has left riders "held hostage."

The CTA and Pace would implement contingencies in their 2008 budgets Jan. 20 that include sharp fare hikes and massive service cuts.  Metra would impose a 10 percent fare hike Feb. 1.