Ride-hailing drivers owe city $15M, fueling demands for licensing

Uber and Lyft drivers owe Chicago taxpayers $15 million - for unpaid parking tickets, red-light and speed camera fines and overdue water bills - fueling demands to require them to get chauffeur's licenses.

When Business Affairs and Consumer Protection Commissioner Maria Guerra Lapacek revealed the level of outstanding debt to the City Council's License Committee, Alderman John Arena (45th) tried to seize on it. Arena moved immediately to hold Uber and Lyft drivers to the same licensing standards as cabdrivers.

Arena's motion was rejected by a closer than normal, 6-to-5 vote. The License Committee then forged ahead with Mayor Rahm Emanuel's plan to appease struggling cabdrivers by reducing fines and relaxing licensing requirements. Cabbies have likened those tweaks to "shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic."

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