Uber, Lyft to avoid fingerprinting Chicago drivers - for now

It looks like Mayor Rahm Emanuel may have staved off an embarrassing defeat on the city council floor on a controversial ordinance to license and fingerprint ride-hailing drivers.

Transportation Committee Chairman Anthony Beale, who pushed through his more rigid licensing ordinance last week, on Monday agreed to a compromise that would license all Uber and Lyft drivers after a daylong course that could be completed online and background checks performed by the companies with information shared with the city.

But there would be no fingerprinting for at least six months. The hiatus would be used to appoint a commission charged with conducting what Beale calls an "independent study" of the value and fairness of fingerprinting. If the recommendation is to proceed with fingerprinting, it will be done. If not, fingerprinting would be eliminated as a requirement for all city employees, the chairman said.

For the full story, click here.