The proposal, which includes merging Pace and Metra, is renewing old battles between Democrats and Republicans, suburban and city politicians over how to divvy up transit dollars in a service area of nearly 9 million people.

The General Assembly and Gov. Rod Blagojevich will consider the recommendations offered by a state transportation task force in the next few weeks.

State Sen. Lou Viverito (D-Burbank), a task force member, hopes the proposals produce more input from south suburban officials wanting better transit.

"Representation is a key issue," Viverito said. "A lot of south suburban areas have received no representation whatsoever."

Loaded with political and business leaders, the task force, chaired by U.S. Rep. William Lipinski (D-3rd) of Chicago, voted 7 to 4 to create a sort of transportation czar for the Chicago area.

The new position, appointed by the governor, would oversee the Regional Transportation Authority. The post would have major say over the operations at the Chicago Transit Authority, Pace and Metra.

Lipinski portrayed the RTA as a weak organization that does little else but distribute federal, state and local funds to the three service agencies.

Because the CTA, Pace and Metra are left to govern themselves, services are duplicated and portions of the Chicago area without political clout are ignored, Lipinski said.

"My biggest problem with mass transit in northeastern Illinois is I don't believe there is any real central authority that governs the whole operation," the Southwest Side Democrat said. "There is no coordination, communication and cooperation."

The new czar would report to an expanded RTA board that includes more members from the suburbs and Chicago. For the first time, the governor and the president of the Cook County Board could appoint members.

Republicans and suburban politicians are painting the changes as a power grab by Chicago Democrats looking to raid transit dollars from the suburbs.

U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk (R-10th) of Wilmette said the new RTA would dilute the influence of the suburbs, where half of Illinois voters live.

"It is a unique political situation. One party runs the whole state," Kirk said. "They want to lock in a power structure."

If legislation surfaces in Springfield, Kirk predicted that suburban Democrats will have to decide whether to toe the party line or to stick up for their region.

"All politics is local," Kirk said. "Elected officials from the suburbs will have to fight for the suburbs."

But Lipinski said most of the criticism about revamping the RTA and combining Pace and Metra is coming from entrenched Republicans who have controlled the transit agencies for decades.

"All the people who have a vested interest in the status quo were opposed to any change," he said. "I don't know if all the people in the city of Chicago, suburban Cook and the collar counties share those views."

Lipinski added that he expects better responses to the growing trend of suburb-to-suburb commuters once Pace and Metra are under the same roof.

He acknowledged that Pace needs to overcome the challenges of running a bus service in far-flung, unconnected suburbs not connected by a grid system.

"It is a very, very difficult task," Lipinski said. "Putting it into Metra or perhaps spinning some of their routes into the CTA definitely will improve the situation."