INDIANAPOLIS | Gary Mayor Rudy Clay wants a commuter rail link to the city's fledging airport -- and an opportunity to avoid paying for the project -- before he'll consider supporting the $1 billion push to extend South Shore lines to Lowell and Valparaiso.

Clay joined state Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, in voicing opposition Tuesday to an attempt to make it nearly impossible for Gary and other member communities to sever financial ties to the Northwest Indiana Regional Development Authority, which is expected to shoulder a portion of the South Shore project.

The pair's news conference marked the latest in criticism from region officials in the way the legislation is taking shape and in demands to make the bill heavier with South Shore plans catering to more communities.

Clay said a rail connection to Gary/Chicago International Airport must be added to the mix before he will support legislation to steer $350 million in state money toward the Lowell and Valparaiso lines. Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. made a similar pitch for a rail hub in his city last week, and the legislation already provides another $7 million a year for South Shore improvements in LaPorte and St. Joseph counties.

The funding bill narrowly cleared the House last week after state Rep. Chet Dobis, D-Merrillville, added a contentious amendment forcing member communities to get approval from the full RDA board before pulling out of the development co-op.

Dobis argues the forced cohesion is key to facilitating bonding authority for the rail expansion and other RDA projects. But Clay said Gary's bleak financial outlook calls into question what amounts to a $35 million commitment of city casino revenue.

"It would put our city in a financial intensive care unit without a doubt," Clay said. "So I definitely can't support (the legislation) as written."

The measure, House Bill 1220, would send the South Shore expansion project 12.5 percent of the state sales tax collected in Lake and Porter counties, a move that would generate more than $30 million annually without raising local taxes. It would provide a total of $350 million to match $500 million in anticipated federal dollars, leaving a $150 million hole supporters expect the RDA to close.