CHICAGO (STMW) — The Illinois House voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to scale back the free-rides-for-seniors program on public transit systems that ex-Gov. Blagojevich put in place.
The House voted 83-27, with three other representatives voting “present,” to move legislation pushed by Rep. Suzanne Bassi (R-Palatine) on to the Illinois Senate.
Under Bassi’s plan, low-income seniors still could ride public buses and trains for free, but more-affluent seniors would pay half-fare. Anyone making under $27,610 a year or a couple making $36,635 would continue to be able to ride for free.
Bassi said the move would save the cash-strapped Regional Transportation Authority $37 million a year. The transit agency is running a roughly $90 million annual deficit.
“It’s going to take the whole system down if we don’t correct it now,” Bassi said.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the CTA board formally met today with the leader of the CTA’s bus drivers union for the first time since staffing and service cuts were imposed more than two weeks ago, but they didn’t agree on much and no further meetings are planned, a spokeswoman for the transit agency said.
Darrell Jefferson, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 241, told CTA chairman Terry Peterson that the union won’t agree to any salary cuts or other concessions sought by the agency to bring back workers and restore service cuts, CTA spokeswoman Noelle Gaffney said.
“The union, unfortunately, made it clear they won’t make concessions necessary to bring back employees and restore service,” Gaffney said.
Jefferson has said he might call a strike vote Monday. The head of the L workers union, though, has said he won’t seek a strike vote in the wake of the Feb. 7 service cuts and 1,057 layoffs.
The bus drivers, meanwhile, said it plans to file a “series of major lawsuits against the CTA,” accusing the agency of contract violations.
One thing the two sides did agree on today: to work together to lobby Springfield and Washington, D.C., for more transit money.
Read the original article from WBBM News Radio.
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