Catherwood LibraryILR School

Just as downtown Chicago expects a large crowd for the annual Independence Day fireworks show tonight, taxi cab drivers of the Chicago Professional Taxicab Drivers Association went on strike. The taxi drivers are upset over several issues, but they are primarily displeased with the “one call a day program,” which requires them to pick up “at least one fare each shift in an underserved area of the city.” In addition, the Association’s President has been involved in a campaign against the city’s ordinance that requires cab drivers to pick up anyone who hails a cab and to drive them wherever they ask to go. The ordinance attempts to address the problem of race discrimination, which occurs when cab drivers refuse to pick up minorities and to service certain neighborhoods.