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Will Quinn Limit Free Rides for Seniors?
(IRN)-It's now up to Governor Pat Quinn to decide whether to stop the free rides for Illinois senior citizens. The "free rides on mass transit" program for people 65 and older was a goodie Quinn's predecessor, Rod Blagojevich, slipped into an amendatory veto a few years ago, and it has stuck.

Both chambers of the General Assembly, though, have passed a bill tying eligibility to the income guidelines of another state program, "Circuit Breaker." And all other seniors would ride on the state's mass transit systems at half price.

The free rides have been available on both Chicago-area and Downstate transit systems. Quinn has in the past been reluctant to end the program but now has a decision to make once and for all.

Estimates of the program's costs have varied wildly, from the tens of millions to more than $100 million.

SB 3778 has passed the Senate, 54-2, and goes to the governor.

(Source: Illinois Radio Network)
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