About the New Law Making Battery of a Cabdriver a FELONY:
Cabdrivers serve the public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, eventually driving on all of the streets of Chicago. Unfortunately for us, becoming the victim of a violent crime is just a matter of time. Driving a cab is one of the most dangerous occupations in America. It is much more dangerous than being a police officer, for example.
One such victim, true "veteran" cabdriver Steve Wiedersberg, successfully worked with state legislators to expand the law to include cabdrivers, which now protects police officers, firefighters, utility workers, and others who are out on the streets, all of the streets, at all hours of the day, often performing their duties alone.
It has been in effect in the entire State of Illinois since the beginning of this year. More need to know about it, for our sake and theirs.
The negative attitude many have towards cabdrivers suggests to a few that they have the right to verbally and physically abuse us. They do not. In fact, thanks to Steve Wiedersberg, those who attack cabdrivers can face felony charges.
As the use of cameras as a safety device becomes more common, certain members of the public will either think twice or be more easily convicted with incontrovertable evidence of their unacceptable behavior.
Commissioner Reyes and Deputy Commissioner Riedle have not worked closely enough with any of the newly-established groups of cabdrivers working for political improvements. The long-standing attitude of the City of Chicago towards hard-working cabdrivers, expressed most recently through Mayor Daley's insufficient "gas surcharge" ordinance, is the major stumbling block to making satisfying progress for anyone involved in this business.
We are trying to work with the Department of Consumer Services...the question is, will they ever work with us?
Ms. Reyes proves either how out of touch or disrespectful she is when she suggests that wider use and acceptance of credit cards will help solve the problem being addressed here. Often, these assaults are not about robbing the cabdriver whatsoever.
In fact, the difficulties in processing some credit card transactions has many times led to a less amicable experience for all.
It is sad that some still wish to use us cabdrivers and these issues as political punching bags; at least, we have refused to be physical punching bags anymore.
I intend to affix stickers and display a placard warning potential perpetrators in the same fashion that the CTA does for its employees, passengers, and others.
I hope that this will help prevent potential injuries and deaths suffered by my fellow cabdrivers, including my own. It certainly doesn't hurt anyone.
Unless, of course, DCS simply chooses to pervert this promotion into yet another source of revenue by issuing tickets and collecting fines. I'm surprised the City hasn't mandated this signage to be purchased from them for its petty gain.
Rather, we should be discussing the next logical enhancement of this deterrent: banning convicted offenders from entering a taxi, permanently if necessary or appropriate.
Before he is paroled, I intend to seek such an "order of protection" to prevent Michael L. Jackson, who brutally murdered cabdriver Haroon Paryani, from ever touching a cab or cabbie again without being sent back to prison.
I cannot fathom why anyone would object to that, or our desire to simply warn people that they can no longer lay their hands on us without serious consequences.
-Mike Foulks, President, Chicago Cabdriver Organization (CCO)
The law is passed and i am extremely grateful for steve and the state representative for helping pass the law.
cabbies and beaten and treated very badly by many customers and police is certainly not helping us either when called.
Commisioner Reyes is so out of touch and so evil about treatment of cabdrivers. She must cooperate with Cabbies and agree to let cabbies post the sign of Law about the felony charges of battery of a cab driver.
She would put big yellow signs in cabs that says SKOKIE is not meter and half from airport and telling people you can pay cab drivers with credit cards and we careless if cabbies have to pay 5% of the payment.
She must also have said in the ratesheet that if you use credit cards, drivers will charge you 5% fee and drivers have the right to verify your credit cards.
I see so many injustices done to cab drivers everyday by this commisioner and others that i am so fed up of this!
They think we have no voice and they can treat us like dogs all the time. They violate our rights and steal our money by having to pay fees for credit card transactions and with huge fines.
What have they done about the safety issue for drivers? answer is nothing! They are squeezing us, telling us how to make a living everyday and we are being treated so badly like how the authoriterian, dictatorship and communist official would treat their people.
We must fight for our rights and equal justice and fair treatment or they will treat us even worse.
I will post the sign of FELONY CHARGE FOR BATTERIES AGAINST CAB DRIVERS no matter what.
I am ready to lose my license in order to fight for my rights.
to all cabdrivers concerned about safety in your cabs:
the UTCC Voice mentioned in its recent issue that we have asked the DCS for the last four months to issue such a "safety placard". on thursday they gave us their answer: "NO. As it would make the cab too 'cluttered'. We had a demonstration on Ogden ave. on Monday and have made hundreds of placards for posting in our cabs. the Sun Times on page 11 of tuesday june 24 has an article about this issue. please contact any UTCC representative to procure this placard. thank you. as ron florence mentioned: "we believe our safety is more important than any 'clutter' they may be talking about'.
thank you
peter
I am so ****** off with this department of consumer services and its evil leader Reyes. I call it (department of Fraud services for cab drivers) because they are so cruel and very unfair to cab drivers.
They treat us worse than someone would treat dogs.
Every bussiness posts signs of any kind, look at mcdonald and many shops where they have warning signs and they are regulated by this DCS. Yet, cab drivers can not post a small sign that says don't beat me?
When cab drivers and beaten and killed by people, what does the DCS react?
They act us if people can mistreat, beat and kill cab drivers and cab drivers can do nothing about preventing such crimes?
many stores and bussiness don't accept credit cards or have minimum purchase limit for paying by credit cards and they are regulated also by DCS, yet cab drivers are forced to accept credit cards and we are forced to also pay the transaction fee of 5% each time of our own money?
What have the DCS done to fix this stupid credit card law? DCS and Reyes must pay us 5% for each credit card we accept and they must compensate us full money for each declined credit cards.
We must file series of lawsuit against Reyes and DCS about their unfair regulations.
We must raise funds and hire some law lawyers and take this evil and cruel Reyes and DCS to court for their evil mistreatment of cab drivers.
Where can I get the sign of BATTRY AGAINST CAB DRIVER IS A FELONY IN ILLINOIS? I need one.
I suggest UTCC to freely give away this sign to all cabbies to post in the back of their cabs.
People have constitutional right to carry licensed guns to defend themselves from violant attacks. We must be able to post simple true warning signs back in our cabs too.
Peter, I will be placing one of these signs in my cab and I encourage all to follow. Is your lessor in your corner? I know this where you and George have a so called common thread. Will the big boy participate? Or has George poisioned his mind?
