Rideshare services have scored a win against Chicago's taxi industry in a battle that began in the legislature, and moved on to the race for Illinois governor. As IPR's Amanda Vinicky reports, Gov. Pat Quinn Monday vetoed a plan that would have established statewide regulations for the on-demand driving service, that let passengers call for rides via smart phone apps.
The minimum wage and what to do about Illinois' income tax are big campaign issues in the race between Gov. Pat Quinn and his Republican rival Bruce Rauner. No surprise: these sorts of policy issues will have a big impact statewide.
What may not be as obvious, particularly downstate where services like Uber and Lyft aren't available, is where ridesharing fits in. And why Rauner would go out of his way to publicly pressure Quinn to reject rideshare regulations.
"I think it's one of the few times the Springfield set does something that affects young, upwardly mobile people."
That's Rep. Mike Zalewski, the Riverside Democrat who sponsored the measure.
"It identifies with a very specific subset of a demographic that people are always looking to motive more."
Motive more ... to vote.
The rideshare companies had threatened cutbacks if the measure were to become law. Leading up to an election, who'd want to be the candidate known for taking away a popular service like Uber?
Quinn makes no mention of any of this in his veto message; he says it's because the measure went too far in stripping municipalities of local control.
Zalewskisays he takes Quinn at his word, but he disagrees with the governor’s argument. He says it's about safety. Zalewski says he'll speak with other supporters to decide if there's the will to try to override the veto.
