The CTA began notifying employees Wednesday that layoffs might be possible because of the current budget crisis.

Letters of notification were sent to 1,094 employees to comply with a 60-day notification requirement.

"We have to prepare our employees as well as our customers for the possibility of service cuts and the loss of positions related to those cuts," CTA President Ron Huberman said.

The CTA is hoping the state will come to the rescue with additional funding, but a key player in Springfield expressed pessimism.

"I worry that the environment is poisoned now to get a lot of things done," said 18th District state Rep. Julie Hamos, D-Evanston, who chairs the House Mass Transit Committee.

The drop-dead date for service cuts and fare increases is September. Without action by legislators, commuters throughout the Chicago area will pay more and have fewer choices.

If help is not forthcoming, the CTA said it will need to cut its budget by $110.1 million. The agency already has cut $18 million in administrative costs, including 75 administrative jobs.

"We still have a critical need for additional funding," CTA board chair Carole Brown said. "Without it, we will be forced to reduce service and, as a result, institute layoffs."

Hamos said such talk isn't a bluff.

"I don't think it's a scare tactic," she said. "It's a reality that people need to understand that this is the possibility."