Attempted sabotage backfires, resulting in greater press coverage for Day of Prayer

from the Chicago Dispatcher
September 2009

Last month Chicago taxi drivers took the day off in a Day of Prayer and Meditation to pray that our city officials pay closer attention to the serious problems Chicago taxi drivers are having and to remember the more than 50 Chicago area taxi drivers who have been murdered since 1988.

The Day of Prayer and Meditation was called for Tuesday, August 11. Unfortunately not every driver got the word because one or more people were throwing away entire stacks of the Chicago Dispatcher (see picture on page 17).

To counter this act of sabotage, we called for a press conference for Monday, a day before the Day of Prayer, with the hope that Chicago taxi drivers would see or hear the news coverage if they were deprived of seeing the Chicago Dispatcher. We sent out press releases to many of the major media outlets. As luck would have it for Chicago taxi drivers, an unlucky Buffalo taxi driver would get attacked and accuse Chicago Blackhawks hockey player Patrick Kane and his cousin of being the culprits. The coincidental timing of this incident generated substantial attention to our Day of Prayer and Meditation and the press conference was covered by several media outlets.

Editorial: Isn't it remarkable that the attempted sabotage of the Chicago Dispatcher in an issue calling for a Day of Prayer and Meditation actually backfired on the saboteur(s)? When drivers were called on for a Day of Prayer and Meditation, the criminal if not wicked act of throwing away this issue of the Chicago Dispatcher backfired, actually resulting in more public exposure of the many serious issues drivers face. If the saboteur(s) hadn't tried depriving drivers of reading the Chicago Dispatcher, we wouldn't have called for a press conference when we did. Had we not called the press conference when we did, which by luck or fate would end up being right after the Patrick Kane incident, we likely wouldn't have gotten nearly as much media attention for taxi driver issues as we did. Mysterious ways...

The Day of Prayer and Meditation ended up being covered by several media sources including ABC, NBC, CBS, the Chicago Tribune, the Daily Herald, WBBM, WGN, WLUP on the Jonathan Brandmeir Show, and WLS on the Mancow and Cassidy Show.

Though many cabdrivers did take the day off, there was no shortage of cabs and service to the city wasn't interrupted. The Day of Prayer and Meditation wasn't intended to cause damage to the city but to bring attention to our issues. In this respect, the Day of Prayer and Meditation was a success for Chicago taxi drivers. Some reporters asked me how many drivers were working that day. I didn't know the answer to that. Some observed how very few cabs were on the streets, while others observed that there were cabs lined up in cabstands. But it really didn't matter. As I told reporters, the Day of Prayer and Meditation wasn't about the drivers who were working - it was about the drivers who were observing this day and the issues we all face.