CTA is Blagojevich's latest villain

I just want to note that political columnist Rich Miller said over at his blog The Capitol Fax that...

As I wrote yesterday, the governor is mostly right on the actual issue. But, as usual, he feels the need to demonize anyone who would dare disagree with him or call him out. This is not the behavior of a reasonable human being. 

 Well I shouldn't be surprised that Clout Street has this story on their blog:

The list is many: a Democratic Party acting too "narrow minded," a veteran Democratic House Speaker who acts like a "right-wing Republican," lawmakers who spend like "drunken sailors," a "Soviet-style bureaucracy" at the State Board of Education, lobbyists who "shuffle around in Gucci loafers."

Now, add to Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich's celebrated list of villains the latest: the Chicago Transit Authority, whom he labels as a "dishonest" bunch guilty of "mismanagement" that takes its "marching orders…directly from City Hall."

In a radio interview with WGN-AM's Spike O'Dell, Blagojevich castigated the CTA for helping win legislative approval of a revenue-generating sales tax hike for Chicago-area mass transit in January, only to renew threats of layoffs, service cuts and fare hikes because the governor inserted a provision to allow seniors to ride free.

Blagojevich this summer vetoed $32 million in CTA subsidies aimed at offsetting the costs of the free rides, basically doubling the cost on the transit agency as it also tries to deal with rising energy costs. But the governor maintains that the CTA still will net out $220 million more from the sales tax hike.

The governor has reiterated his plan to appoint new members to the CTA board. I could ask again, where has the governor been all this time. He should have thought about doing this way before now? Perhaps he's been stung by the criticism of his actions on this he's receiving lately.

Clout St. also notes that:

It's questionable what Blagojevich might be able to accomplish, however. The governor's comments about the CTA might have a sharper sting if voters hadn't ridden this railroad before. And given the governor's track record, he may be the only politician in the state who could make people have sympathy for the city's beleaguered transit agency.

In the situation where the CTA is talking about layoffs and fare hikes I don't think the governor has helped the situation. He may not have been to blame for everything, however the free rides for seniors didn't help and neither did his veto of the money that was to offset these free rides.

Reading about him over the years, this situation shows one problem with the governor. He shows no leadership especially in situations that require it. All he does is react, that's unfortunate.