Rahm Emanuel

The 6 worst things about Illinois’ proposed ridesharing law

03/27/2014
Taxi-industry lobbyists have been working hard to get Chicago to hobble or ban popular ridesharing services such as UberX and Lyft, but they haven’t gotten very far. The problem: these services are just too popular. Aldermen have been overwhelmed with calls and emails from Chicagoans asking them to leave ridesharing alone. So now the taxi...

TAGS: Lyft, rideshare, Uber

How to stop Chicago from ruining Uber and Lyft

02/18/2014
Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has proposed an ordinance that would force the popular ride-sharing services Uber and Lyft to drastically change the way they do business, if not shut down operations in the city entirely. The proposal contains numerous unnecessary provisions that would harm Uber and Lyft drivers as well as consumers and serve no...

TAGS: Chicago, Lyft, nanny state, taxis, Uber

How much are Chicago’s public servants really paid?

By Brian Costin
02/16/2014
The city of Chicago spent a shocking $197 million in overtime pay over the last year. Some public servants were paid more in overtime pay than their regular salary. One city employee, Police Communications Operator Lisa Jamison, earned $122,088 in overtime pay, on top of her $80,136 annual salary. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, “107...

The 7 worst things in Chicago’s proposed Uber ordinance

02/10/2014
Last week, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel proposed an ordinance that would regulate popular ride-sharing services such as Uber and Lyft in Chicago. Emanuel often claims that he wants Chicago to be friendly to new businesses, innovation and technology. Unfortunately, his proposal is anything but friendly to these “transportation network” services, and would force them to...

TAGS: Chicago, nanny state, Uber

Chicago backs off e-cigarette ban

By Bryant Jackson-Green
12/10/2013
Last month, Chicago was poised to become the second city in Illinois to impose burdensome new restrictions on e-cigarettes, threatening to regulate them like tobacco products even though they contain no tobacco. But after facing strong opposition at the City Council’s joint Finance and Health Committee hearing on Monday, a much weaker version of the...

Fitch Ratings: Chicago approaching “inflection point”

11/12/2013
Triple-notch credit downgrades for government entities are supposed to be rare. They normally happen only in response to major financial events, such as a sudden fiscal emergency. But Chicago just received its second triple-notch downgrade in just six months. And that spells trouble for Chicago taxpayers. Citing skyrocketing pension costs and a lack of meaningful...

TAGS: Chicago, Chicago Park District, Detroit, downgrade, pensions