Key Illinois lawmakers appeared ready Thursday to back Gov. Blagojevich’s surprise offering of free bus and train fare for senior citizens in order to avert a Jan. 20 meltdown of the CTA.

His move to end the bitter, six-month transit funding dispute came after the House and Senate narrowly approved a bailout package boosting the sales tax in Cook and the collar counties by a quarter of a percentage point and imposing a tax on Chicago real estate transactions.