Blago Just Full Of Surprises

By Margaret Lyons in News on Jan 15, 2008 6:00PM

Last week, Governor Blagojevich's amendatory veto--"improvement" was it?--that seniors be able to ride the CTA for free made our brains explode with both shock and dismay. Shock that he waited until the last minute to unveil this idea, and dismay that it might derail (zing!) the transit funding plans the state legislature so laboriously hammered out. And then today, this treat: He never discussed it with Ron Huberman or anyone else from the various branches of the RTA.

We're still waiting to hear back from the Governor's press office about this, but we're curious: How would free rides for seniors be enforced? Will seniors get a special CTA card? Or can they just get on the bus with their ID? What about when they get on the El? We'll keep you posted if we hear back. Otherwise, insert a picture of our deflated spirit here.

State lawmakers will reconvene later this week to try to pass the legislation, and of course doomsday is still scheduled for Sunday the 20th. [CBS 2, NBC 5]