Chicago-Area Seniors Question Cost, Need For Blagojevich's Free-Ride Proposal

While some praise proposal, others call it a political ploy

Though seniors emerged as surprising winners after the monthslong debate over
mass-transit funding, older riders appear split as to whether they need -- or
even deserve -- a free ride.

Some hailed Gov. Rod Blagojevich's proposal
to let those 65 or older ride for free as an important subsidy for the estimated
870,000 seniors living in the metropolitan area, but others called it an
expensive political ploy that could overwhelm the regional mass transit system
that helps them maintain their independence.

"Of course, I'm not
going to turn down a free ride, and I think it's a nice gesture," said Marion
Cheney, 87, of Harwood Heights, as she rode the No. 77 bus down Belmont Avenue
on Saturday. "But if it costs too much money for the CTA, they can have my
dollar. I don't want them to have to cut routes because I'm getting a free
ride."

On Thursday, Blagojevich raised the stakes in the political battle
over funding Chicago-area mass transit, saying he would only endorse a sales-tax
increase lawmakers sent him if they also agree to give senior citizens free
rides on local trains and buses overseen by the Regional Transportation
Authority. Blagojevich made the brand-new demand as he sought to soften the
political damage of breaking his long-held vow to veto a sales-tax
increase.

Transit officials and their supporters reluctantly accepted the
governor's challenge but worried that the funding bill -- which had barely
passed the legislature hours earlier -- might not survive a second trip. Service
cuts and fare hikes to begin next Sunday on the Chicago Transit Authority and
Pace suburban bus service were still in place, pending a final
agreement.

Seniors said they have more at stake in the battle over
mass-transit funding than most. For many of them, mass transit is more than just
a way to avoid gridlock and parking headaches. It's a lifeline to the outside
world, a way to maintain independence without endangering others on the road or
worrying about auto expenses. Cheney said the CTA takes her to the store, helps
her keep lunch dates with friends and makes it possible to visit her ailing
sister whenever she wants.

'Doomsday' reprieve

The so-called
doomsday scenarios that threatened service cuts and fare hikes troubled seniors
perhaps more than any other group, said Simone Mitchell-Peterson, executive
director of Little Brothers-Friends of the Elderly. The proposed cuts have been
a constant topic of conversation among senior volunteers at the Chicago-based
organization, which aims to reduce isolation among the older
population.

Many feared becoming involuntary shut-ins if the money fell
through and their neighborhood routes were eliminated. After months of worrying
how they would get to doctor appointments or the post office without public
transportation, Mitchell-Peterson said, it's understandable if some seniors
greet Blagojevich's free rides with skepticism or weary
appreciation.

"They don't want to seem ungrateful for what appears to be
a historic gift," Mitchell-Peterson said. "But it's more important to them to
have the service than free rides."

Halina Kowalczuk, 70, grew
increasingly anxious over the last three months as she monitored the transit
debate on Polish news programs. Each time a doomsday deadline approached, she
worried she would have no way to get from her government-subsidized apartment on
the Northwest Side to her job as a home-care worker on the Gold Coast. The money
she receives from cooking, cleaning and caring for her aging clients helps cover
grocery bills, medical expenses and her weekly offering at mass.

She
spends at least two hours each day on CTA buses, long trips she and two friends
fill with animated conversations about their families here and in Poland. She
said she could kiss the governor for the free-ride program, though she probably
would have planted one on him for simply ending the funding crisis.

"I
need the bus," she said. "I need it to live my life."

Under the current
program, seniors can pay a reduced fare when they get on or they can buy a
discounted fare card. The RTA has issued about 300,000 reduced-fare permits to
seniors, though officials say there are an uncounted number of elderly riders
who pay full fare, often because they don't want the inconvenience of applying
for the reduced permit in person.

Alma Sandefur pays $35 each month for
unlimited rides on the CTA, a pass that takes the 90-year-old Chicago woman
everywhere she needs to go. She travels by bus every morning to a Northwest Side
senior center, where she enjoys her friends' company and a hot lunch for $1.50.
She sets aside Saturdays for trips to the grocery store, and she relies on the
bus to get her to church Sundays.

Sandefur, a widow who spent years
working in a bakery, welcomes the savings that free ridership would bring her.
It may not seem like much, she said, but it makes a difference to a person on a
fixed income.

"Some months, money runs short, and any extra helps," she
said. "I'm not sure how it's going to work, though. There's going to be a lot of
people trying to ride for free and the buses are already
crowded."

Transit officials aren't sure how the program will work either,
but they have pledged full support for the deal, which may get a final
legislative vote this week. Initial estimates suggested the plan would cost CTA,
Pace and the Metra railroads a total of about $20 million annually, but the
public transportation agencies now say they stand to lose as much as $31.4
million. Transit officials suggested Friday that fares might have to be raised
for other riders to pay for the free rides for seniors.

Perk may be
costly

The price tag for the free rides troubled some seniors as they
traveled by road and rail over the weekend. Joliet residents Bob and Lorraine
Baron, both 68, took the train into Chicago Friday evening to see "La Traviata"
at the Lyric Opera. Such leisure trips may soon be free -- a substantial saving
given the couple's season subscriptions to the Lyric, Chicago Shakespeare
Theater and Court Theatre -- but the plan still hits a sour note with
them.

"I think it's ridiculous," Lorraine Baron said. "[Blagojevich] said
it's going to cost taxpayers $20 million to do that. So they're going to
increase the sales tax and then pour back $20 million into this? That's
crazy."

Chicagoan Barbara Kizyzanowski, 73, has not gotten behind the
wheel of a car since her husband was killed while driving to a dialysis
appointment two years ago. She depends on the CTA to shuttle her to all her
errands. If she wants to get out and interact with others, a bus ride through
the Northwest Side offers her an opportunity to socialize.

She supports
the free-ridership program, but she's still too angry about the doomsday
predictions to praise the funding-crisis resolution.

"It doesn't matter
if I like it or not," she said. "This should have happened a long time ago. I
won't say, 'Thank you.' I say, 'Finally.'"