By Laura Washington
Mayor Lori Lightfoot is the first Chicago mayor to embrace racial equity in decades. Yet her new proposal to hike taxes on ride-hailing companies could hurt those she aims to help.
The Rev. Walter Turner wants to take her to church.
“[Ride-hailing], since its inception, Laura, has been a true blessing in our communities,” he told me Friday.
The pastor of the New Spiritual Light Missionary Baptist Church in South Shore is speaking out against Lightfoot’s ride-hailing “congestion tax.”
To put it biblically, ride-hailing has been manna from heaven for Chicagoans starved for decent transportation options.
Turner understands the city’s urgent need to bring in new revenue. “Mayor Lightfoot has done a great job trying to do what she can,” he said. “But don’t go back, go forward.”
Lightfoot’s plan would triple the city tax in the central part of the city for trips via ride-hailing companies such as Uber and Lyft.