Monthly 'Chicago Dispatcher' threatens to out five aldermen over ridesharing
Tue. March 11, 2014 3:54 PM by Carlos Santoscoy
Chicago, IL -
A monthly paper devoted to Chicago's taxicab industry has threatened to out as gay five city aldermen unless their demands are met. In a Chicago Dispatcher editorial, George J. Lutfallah, the paper's publisher, laments it has "come to this" but insists his paper will name names if the city government does not outlaw ridesharing permanently.
"We did not want it to come to this but our city government has been allowing unfair competition in violation of the law. Lawsuits have been filed. Newspaper reports have been published. Aldermen have been lobbied. Yet the city appears to be going forward with a proposal to allow people to get paid to give rides to others in their private cars. We will not stand for this. What follows is a list of specific demands that must be met by the end of March or we will release the names of the secretly gay aldermen," Lutfallah wrote.
Ridesharing apps such as Lyft and Uber are becoming increasingly popular. Each allows drivers to share a ride in exchange for a donation.
Ridesharing should be banned "because their drivers do not have commercial insurance and it would be impossible to create an insurance instrument that would cover drivers and riders," Lutfallah wrote, adding that up to 40 percent of rideshare drivers are women.
"If a woman needs a ride somewhere, she will only feel safe if the driver is a man."
"We have it on good authority that a couple of [the closeted aldermen] watch Duck Dynasty while eating carryout from Chick-fil-A," he added, suggesting that the politicians are anti-gay.
He concluded: "There's a reason we have laws – to protect established businesses. Our city council has a duty to protect the taxicab business from competition that offers a better service that consumers prefer. Let's keep things the way they were and follow established regulations and cultural norms."
Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, the state's largest LGBT rights advocate, called on the paper to retract the editorial and apologize to the LGBT community, the City Council and women.
"If the publication thought such a commentary would further the cause in the taxi drivers' ongoing dispute with the city, it will surely backfire," Cherkasov said in an emailed statement. "No one likes to be threatened or ridiculed, whether individually or as an institution, and with its commentary this publication surely has injected more cynicism and distrust instead of raising awareness about their concerns. Such comments as were contained in the article are simply not funny and are not to be excused."
"We did not want it to come to this but our city government has been allowing unfair competition in violation of the law. Lawsuits have been filed. Newspaper reports have been published. Aldermen have been lobbied. Yet the city appears to be going forward with a proposal to allow people to get paid to give rides to others in their private cars. We will not stand for this. What follows is a list of specific demands that must be met by the end of March or we will release the names of the secretly gay aldermen," Lutfallah wrote.
Ridesharing apps such as Lyft and Uber are becoming increasingly popular. Each allows drivers to share a ride in exchange for a donation.
Ridesharing should be banned "because their drivers do not have commercial insurance and it would be impossible to create an insurance instrument that would cover drivers and riders," Lutfallah wrote, adding that up to 40 percent of rideshare drivers are women.
"If a woman needs a ride somewhere, she will only feel safe if the driver is a man."
"We have it on good authority that a couple of [the closeted aldermen] watch Duck Dynasty while eating carryout from Chick-fil-A," he added, suggesting that the politicians are anti-gay.
He concluded: "There's a reason we have laws – to protect established businesses. Our city council has a duty to protect the taxicab business from competition that offers a better service that consumers prefer. Let's keep things the way they were and follow established regulations and cultural norms."
Bernard Cherkasov, CEO of Equality Illinois, the state's largest LGBT rights advocate, called on the paper to retract the editorial and apologize to the LGBT community, the City Council and women.
"If the publication thought such a commentary would further the cause in the taxi drivers' ongoing dispute with the city, it will surely backfire," Cherkasov said in an emailed statement. "No one likes to be threatened or ridiculed, whether individually or as an institution, and with its commentary this publication surely has injected more cynicism and distrust instead of raising awareness about their concerns. Such comments as were contained in the article are simply not funny and are not to be excused."
Article provided in partnership with On Top Magazine