SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Another special session of the Illinois Legislature saw lawmakers hurling accusations of political grandstanding and failing to come up with a deal on a mass transit bailout.

And there’s more to come.

A plan to divert state tax money to the ailing Chicago-area mass transit systems failed Wednesday night as lawmakers continued the intense political bickering that has absorbed them all year.

House Speaker Michael Madigan then sent his members home Thursday morning, telling them they wouldn’t be back to work until January unless some legislation develops. A spokeswoman for Gov. Rod Blagojevich said the governor hadn’t decided whether to call another special session to keep lawmakers working.

Chicago-area bus and train passengers are left facing the prospect of service cuts and fare increases in the new year. The issue remains intertwined with the two other complex questions of gambling and capital construction.

The plan would have diverted $440 million in state gasoline sales taxes to help the Chicago area’s mass transit systems. Backers offered no proposal for filling the hole that would create in the state budget.

The House vote was 57-53, but it needed 71 votes to pass.

“It’s the same thing that’s been going on all year long, and it’s the reason we’re not getting anything done,” said House Minority Leader Tom Cross, R-Oswego. “We’re playing games, and we’re playing gotcha.”

Gov. Rod Blagojevich had called lawmakers into special session — their 17th of the year — to provide long-term aid before the transit cuts take effect.

But many downstate lawmakers refuse to help without a companion deal on billions of dollars of road, school and government construction projects statewide. Officials are considering a major gambling expansion to pay for the capital program.

So both transit and construction remain stuck, and the political bickering continues.

Blagojevich called another special session for Thursday to consider both issues simultaneously. “We can’t afford any more delay,” he said in a statement.

Madigan quickly adjourned the latest special session Thursday morning, although he cautioned they could be called back on short notice before the beginning of the year.

Blagojevich was in Chicago for a hockey game when the House voted. Madigan suggested the plan might have fared better if Blagojevich had worked harder to round up support.

Madigan said he was disappointed with the outcome of Wednesday’s vote but would continue to work on both issues. But he said transit money should not be held hostage until a construction plan passes.

“Both of these issues are extremely contentious,” Madigan said. “Taken separately, they’re monster issues ... I’m not surprised that there’s difficulty resolving these issues separately, let alone together.”

The latest dispute highlights the geographical differences that sometimes trump party allegiances in the Legislature.

Chicago-area lawmakers are pushing hard for a solution to the mass transit problems, fearing backlash from angry voters if service cuts and fare increases can’t be stopped. Downstate lawmakers whose votes are needed to pass a mass transit aid package want something for their constituents in exchange.

They’re seeking billions of dollars in new road, school and government construction projects. Those are on hold until leaders work out a massive gambling expansion plan to pay for them.

In the past, Madigan has supported a plan to come up with new transit money by raising Chicago-area sales and real estate taxes. But Blagojevich has opposed the idea and it never passed in the House.

So Madigan then offered legislation to use state gas tax revenue for the purpose, an idea that Blagojevich has endorsed. Now that measure has failed, too.

Madigan said the transit plans weren’t dead but suggested they could more likely pass in January, when only 60 votes would be required.

Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, predicted even if the proposal had passed the House it would go nowhere in the Senate because of the desire to have a construction plan.

Republicans also complained the latest transit plan had key policy flaws — mostly the hole it would create in the state budget. They suggested Madigan wanted the plan to fail so that his preferred funding method would get another chance.

Blagojevich’s office joined in the criticism.

Deputy Gov. Sheila Nix said Madigan appeared to be making a halfhearted effort on the bill in an attempt to stall any real action. But she said that the latest failure might demonstrate to everyone that a construction plan must be part of the agreement if anything is to be done for Chicago mass transit.

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The bill is SB307.

On the Net: www.ilga.gov

Posted 11/29/2007