Uber and Lyft threaten to abandon Chicago to avoid licensing

Two-thirds of Chicago's 50 aldermen want to license ride-hailing drivers to improve public safety and level the playing field with a taxicab industry fighting for survival against Uber and Lyft.

That didn't change Wednesday even after a marathon hearing that saw both companies play the race card and threaten to abandon the Chicago market if that's what it takes to avoid licensing.

"If this ordinance were to pass, ride-sharing as we know it would no longer exist in Chicago," said Uber's Chicago general manager Marco McCottry.

Joseph Okpaku, Lyft's vice president of government relations, said it's a "distinct possibility" that the company would pull up stakes.

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