SPRINGFIELD - The General Assembly's record-breaking overtime session will carry into another week when members of the Illinois Senate convene Monday.

Just a day after the Illinois House rejected a plan to pump millions of dollars into mass transit programs serving commuters in the Chicago region, Senate leaders announced they would descend on the Capitol to try their hand at a solution that also could include a multibillion-dollar statewide road and school construction program.

The massive package would be financed by the addition of two to three new gambling casinos in the Chicago area, said state Sen. Gary Forby, D-Benton, who said he supports the concept.

"If people in my district don't have to pay anything, be out anything, and we get a budget, and we get our school construction (money), I'm going to vote on it," Forby said.

A spokeswoman for Senate President Emil Jones, D-Chicago, said she was unaware of the details of the legislation that might be considered by the Democrat-led chamber.

"I know we'll be discussing transit," Cindy Davidsmeyer said.

The move by the Senate comes as the Chicago Transit Authority is threatening to cut bus routes and raise fares on Sept. 16. The Metra rail service says it will cut maintenance funds, and the Pace suburban bus company says it will reduce service to Chicago, as well as raise fares.

A plan to raise sales taxes by one-quarter of 1 percentage point in Cook County and five surrounding counties fell 10 votes short of passage in the House on Tuesday.

That proposal, which also would boost the real estate transfer tax in Chicago, would have generated about $434 million to help bail out the bus and train systems.

House Speaker Michael Madigan, D-Chicago, vowed Tuesday to find the needed 10 votes, but Gov. Rod Blagojevich has said he would veto the plan because it would violate his campaign pledge to not raise taxes.

The Democratic governor instead wants to help the transit systems by ending several tax breaks for business or by expanding casino gambling.

In a sign that there remains widespread rancor among the governor and legislative leaders, a Blagojevich spokeswoman said she was not aware what the Senate was planning to vote on when members return.

The House and Senate were scheduled to adjourn for the summer on May 31, but bitter disagreements over the state budget have forced them to stay in Springfield on and off throughout the recent months.

The House isn't scheduled to return until Oct. 2 but could return before then if needed.

Kurt Erickson can be reached at kurt.erickson@lee.net or 789-0865.