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Daley urges action on transit, cautions against 'hate'

Posted December 05, 2007 10:00 pm

Mike Ramsey

Mayor Richard Daley on Wednesday made his latest attempt to prod state leaders into solving the mass-transit funding crisis and intimated that Gov. Rod Blagojevich and Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan should not waste energy hating each other as they grapple with the issue.

The Chicago region's transit agencies have prepared to impose service cuts and fare hikes next month, barring a long-term cash infusion from Springfield. Daley emphasized that lawmakers must come through before Dec. 31, when cost-control agreements with Chicago Transit Authority unions expire.

"We're all concerned that the legislature won't act on public transportation in the next three weeks," Daley said during a news conference with labor and business leaders. "Springfield must not leave the issue unresolved until next year."

Blagojevich has made little headway in negotiating a transit bailout in recent months with the four legislative leaders, and the topic has occasionally taken a back seat to a proposed statewide construction program Republicans have demanded as a quid pro quo. Complicating matters has been the festering personality conflict between Blagojevich and fellow Democrat Madigan, who did not attend discussions this week in the governor's Chicago office.

A reporter asked Daley about the common perception that Blagojevich and Madigan "hate" each other. The mayor did not say whether he agrees with the assessment, but he said hatred clouds the judgment and has no place among policymakers.

"Hate should not be part and parcel of government or politics any place in this country," Daley said. "I may differ with people, they may differ with me. But no way either one of us are going to hate one another. That is a complete waste of time, I really believe."

"There's a disagreement on policy issues," Madigan's spokesman, Steve Brown, said when asked about the speaker's relationship with Blagojevich. "I don't know of anybody that Mike Madigan hates."

Blagojevich spokeswoman Abby Ottenhoff said the governor's differences with Madigan are "ideological, not personal."

She also said Blagojevich plans to call Daley today "to ask for his help" in getting the mass-transit matter resolved.

The Chicago-area transit agencies under the Regional Transportation Authority - the CTA, Metra and Pace - have raided their capital funds in recent years to offset rising operational costs. They collectively have a deficit of more than $400 million for the coming year.

Blagojevich earlier this year held off "doomsday" service cuts and fare hikes with stopgap funds, and now the latest CTA deadline is Jan. 20. The agency plans more than 2,400 layoffs.

Rick Harris, one of the CTA union bosses, said transit employees would reluctantly stage a "job action" before the end of the year as they await word on whether they'll have jobs in 2008. He did not provide specifics.

Blagojevich and Madigan and the other legislative leaders have disagreed about the way to increase funding for mass transit over the next several years. Some of them also have argued over details of the proposed capital program that is linked to mass transit. The roads, bridges and schools within the construction plan would be financed through a large-scale gambling expansion that would include a Chicago casino.

Mike Ramsey can be reached at (312) 857-2323 or ghns-ramsey@sbcglobal.net.

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