Tax on Uber, Lyft rides in downtown Chicago set to triple Jan. 1

By Vincent Caruso

12/09/2019

Chicagoans will pay higher taxes on rideshare trips in 2020 as part of Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s first budget.

TAGS: budget, Chicago, Chicago Department of Transportation, congestion tax, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, fees, Illinois Constitution, Lyft, outmigration, population, taxis, transportation, Uber

Chicago’s 2020 budget proposal was never truly balanced

By Bill Reveille

11/26/2019

Faced with the impossible task of balancing Chicago’s budget without pension reform, Mayor Lori Lightfoot is forced to partially rely on phantom cuts and revenues.

TAGS: bonds, budget, CAFR: Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, Chicago, Chicago City Council, Chicago City Hall, constitutional amendment, CTA: Chicago Transit Authority, CTU: Chicago Teachers Union, deficit, emergency fee, homelessness, housing market, ILGA: Illinois General Assembly, interest rates, library, Lori Lightfoot, Lyft, property taxes, Rahm Emanuel, real estate, real estate transfer tax, tax hikes, tax increase, TIF: Tax Increment Financing, Uber

Lightfoot proposes $40M tax hike on solo Uber, Lyft rides in downtown Chicago

By Vincent Caruso

10/19/2019

The mayor proposed tripling ride-sharing taxes and fees on solo passengers downtown, on top of other increases, as the city confronts a nearly $1 billion budget deficit and a costly contract dispute with the nation’s third-largest teachers’ union.

TAGS: Chicago, Lori Lightfoot, Lyft, rideshare, taxes, Uber

Pritzker capital plan would double Illinois gas tax, hike vehicle registration fees, create new taxes on Uber and Netflix

By Austin Berg

05/17/2019

Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s office is using a major capital bill as a vehicle to grease lawmakers for a progressive income tax amendment. But the tax hikes to pay for it would make Illinoisans’ gas tax burden the second highest in the nation.

TAGS: alcohol tax, amusement tax, capital project, fair tax, gas tax, graduated income tax, income tax, JB Pritzker, Lyft, Netflix, progressive income tax, rideshare, satellite tax, streaming tax, Uber, vehicle registration

Chicago City Council seeks to hike ridesharing fees

By Chris Lentino

10/05/2017

One alderman with strong ties to the traditional taxicab industry has suggested raising fees on ridesharing to fill the growing budget gap.

TAGS: Anthony Beale, Chicago, collaborative economy, Lyft, regulations, rideshare, Uber

The end of Uber in Chicago? Ordinance would require fingerprinting of rideshare drivers and limit surge pricing

By Brendan Bakala

09/02/2017

The ordinance was pushed through committee by taxi industry ally Alderman Anthony Beale, 9th Ward.

TAGS: Lyft, rideshare, sharing economy, taxis, Uber

Chicago passes new rules on Uber and Lyft

By Austin Berg

06/22/2016

The city will require rideshare drivers to complete an online course before hitting the road, and will allow ridesharing platforms such as Uber and Lyft to continue conducting their own background checks.

TAGS: Chicago, Lyft, Rahm Emanuel, regulations, rideshare, Uber

Instead of whacking Uber, Evanston looks to lift burden on taxis

By Austin Berg

06/21/2016

The city of Evanston offers a path forward for governments to level the playing field between traditional taxis and ridesharing.

TAGS: collaborative economy, Lyft, rideshare, Uber

Uber and Airbnb ordinances show Chicago ushering in new era of hyperregulation

By Chris Lentino

06/21/2016

In the face of fleeing residents, the Chicago City Council has chosen to add more and more layers of regulation instead of reforming.

TAGS: Airbnb, Chicago, collaborative economy, Lyft, Rahm Emanuel, regulations, Uber

Uber, Lyft threaten to leave Chicago

By Austin Berg

06/18/2016

Chicago City Council is one vote away from enacting punishing rules that could force the popular platforms out of the Windy City.

TAGS: Chicago, collaborative economy, Lyft, regulations, rideshare, Uber

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Illinois finds itself at a crossroads: will it empower minorities and poor people to unleash their potential, or will it perpetuate an inequitable status quo? For far too many Illinoisans, opportunity is unfairly and unnecessarily out of reach. Illinois ranks in the bottom ten among all states in social mobility and last among Midwest states...

View Report

Unlocking Opportunity: How Occupational Licensing Reform Would Promote Equitable Empowerment in Illinois

Report Archive

Brandi Lentz

Process for unionizing non-state workers raises red flags

CBS Chicago: Illinois’ highest-paid superintendent receives $400K per year to oversee 1,200 students