SPRINGFIELD - If Illinois' political pileup over transportation issues was a movie, a good title might be, "Planes, Trains & Automobiles."

Trains, like the ones in Chicagoland that will quit running some time next month if the state doesn't provide money for the region's mass transit system.

Automobiles, which are in need of improved roads, which downstate lawmakers are demanding before they will agree to the Chicago transit bailout.

And planes, like the one Gov. Rod Blagojevich used one night last week so he could jet home to watch a Chicago hockey game -while his transportation initiative was crashing and burning in Springfield.

Blagojevich, a Democrat, has been at odds with much of the Democrat-controlled Legislature all year, over health care, state debt, personality conflicts and other issues. The recent transportation showdown is an exten-sion of that on-going feud -but one that threatens to impact average Illinoisans more directly than ever, affecting the way they travel every day.

It's a complicated debate with several interlocking issues. One is Chicago's transit system, which is poised to screech to a halt next month without new revenue. Blagojevich ordered lawmakers to Springfield last week to vote on a plan to divert $440 million in Chicagoland gas-tax money to the transit system.

But downstate lawmakers said they wouldn't back that bailout unless it's part of a broader package that in-cludes a major infrastructure program for roads and bridges that Illinoisans outside Chicago heavily on.

It gets more complicated. Many believe the only way to fund that major infrastructure package is to add two or more new casinos to the state's fleet of nine riverboats, and allow existing ones like the Casino Queen and the Argosy at Alton to expand, thus garnering more in state gaming taxes.

That, in turn, has led to renewed demands from the horseracing industry for some kind of help for struggling tracks like Fairmount Park in Collinsville, either by allowing slot machines at the tracks or requiring the casinos to pay them a subsidy.

Many lawmakers last week openly predicted the Chicago transit plan would fail without those other issues at-tached to it. Blagojevich ordered them to Springfield to vote on the Chicago transit plan anyway. It failed in a House floor vote Wednesday night, 57-53 (it needed 71 votes to pass).

Blagojevich wasn't there when it happened, because he flew back to Chicago earlier in the evening to attend a Blackhawks game. A Chicago television station showed him rinkside with team President John McDonough that night, even as the transit crisis deepened back in Springfield.

"I prefer to watch a game that wasn't rigged," Blagojevich explained to reporters in Springfield the next day -a jab at House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, whom Blagojevich accuses of sabotaging the transit vote.

But the fact that Blagojevich wasn't in Springfield during the vote - even as he ordered lawmakers to be there - has further angered those who have long accused him of disengagement from his job.

It's a largely symbolic issue, but one that could have real ramifications as Blagojevich continues seeking agreement on a transportation package this week.

"It shows he isn't serious," said state Rep. Jack Franks, D-Woodstock, one of many fellow Democrats who have be-come vociferous critics of the governor.

By Friday, the Illinois Republican Party was capitalizing on the issue, sponsoring a "Governor for a Day" con-test in which a randomly chosen winner will be given a day's outing in Chicago -and two tickets to a Blackhawks game. "It seems (Blagojevich) doesn't take his job seriously," said GOP spokesman Lance Trover, "so why should we take him seriously?"

Blagojevich spokeswoman Rebecca Rausch denied that the governor failed to follow through on the transit leg-islation. "The governor lobbied hard for that bill. (He) put on a full-court press . . . and then he fulfilled a prior commitment." She said Blagojevich attended the hockey game in his official capacity, promoting an Illinois sports team.

Blagojevich's sky-hopping habits have been controversial before. He lives in Chicago instead of the Executive Mansion that the taxpayers provide him in Springfield. He often flies home for the night during legislative ses-sions, then back the next morning, rather than overnighting in the capital. Each round trip home and back costs the taxpayers more than $5,000 in expenses related to the state plane.

At least two pending legislative bills would bar executive officials like the governor from spending any state money to get to and from work. "It's emblematic of the growing frustration with the governor and the way he's choosing to conduct state business," said Madigan staffer Mike Weir.

Blagojevich and other leaders will meet next week to continue seeking agreement on a transportation measure.