Quinn vetoes Uber legislation that would have stifled innovation, jobs growth and competition

Nearly three months after the Illinois General Assembly passed devastating restrictions on innovative ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, Gov. Pat Quinn issued a surprising blow to the taxicab lobby by vetoing the job-killing legislation in its entirety. This March, in response to the recent success and popularity of ridesharing programs such as Uber...

Nearly three months after the Illinois General Assembly passed devastating restrictions on innovative ridesharing services such as Uber and Lyft, Gov. Pat Quinn issued a surprising blow to the taxicab lobby by vetoing the job-killing legislation in its entirety.

This March, in response to the recent success and popularity of ridesharing programs such as Uber and Lyft, the taxicab industry lobbied aggressively in Springfield and Chicago to impose draconian regulations on rideshare services. Chicago taxicab companies spent months pushing through a bill that would make it more difficult for the pioneering industry to compete with traditional cabs in Illinois’ market.

The taxicab industry believed that they had secured a quid pro quo agreement with Gov. Pat Quinn: they thought he would surely sign the bill that the General Assembly passed in mid-May, thereby imposing crippling restrictions on their burgeoning competitors.

All summer, Uber asked their customers to sign a petition asking Quinn to veto the bill; the company received over 80,000 signed petition from loyal consumers.

Seeing the overwhelming support Chicagoans demonstrated on behalf of ridesharing companies, Quinn reconsidered his initial allegiance to the taxicab lobby and issued a full veto of the legislation, citing a free-market defense of ride sharing services. Quinn said:

“To rush into a whole new statewide regulation network before the need for one is clear would not only stifle innovation, it would be a disservice to consumers who utilize the service while setting a troubling precedent for the future.”

 We commend Quinn for acting against legislation that would have stifled innovation, jobs growth and competition in Illinois.