Over the last year, Chicago rideshare drivers have faced a mounting list of challenges including app deactivations and immigration raids. Now, the city is launching an initiative to help connect drivers with help.

The nonprofit People’s Lobby Education Institute will run the program, which launches Monday and is set to last at least one year.

“This specific subset of workers plays an important role in the city, and we want to ensure that they are as successful as they can be,” said Miguel Campos, the director of the city’s Office of Labor Standards.

As of May, Campos said, around 87,000 workers were registered to drive for rideshare app companies such as Uber and Lyft in Chicago. Drivers licensed as “public chauffeurs,” a group that includes drivers of taxis, limos, pedicabs and sightseeing vehicles like tour buses, numbered 13,000.

Lori Simmons, lead gig organizer at the People’s Lobby Education Institute, said the organization is planning to offer education and training around a wide range of issues impacting drivers.

“A lot of drivers really just have no idea what their rights are,” Simmons said.

For instance, a rideshare driver who gets deactivated from an app but thinks the deactivation was unfair — an issue app-based drivers have organized against for years — can get in touch with the center to get connected with resources, Simmons said.

Campos noted that drivers who believe they’re getting stiffed out of incentive pay, like bonuses offered for giving a certain number of rides, might be able to get help, too.

“We do have an ability, case by case … to consider that to be a form of wage theft under city ordinance,” Campos said. “That’s the type of information that we want the drivers to know.”

The People’s Lobby also plans to provide orientation materials for new drivers. The group plans to provide drivers with information about things like what to do if they’re in a crash, or what to do if a passenger starts getting combative.

Drivers will also get information about how to maximize their earnings and education about how to keep track of their expenses and mileage, Simmons said.

Simmons said the group will also help connect drivers with immigration resources.

During President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in Chicago last year, federal agents repeatedly descended on parking lots near O’Hare International Airport where drivers wait to pick up passengers.

The city’s attempts to stop the parking lot raids — including posting signage at the lots noting immigration enforcement is prohibited on city-owned property — proved futile as Border Patrol agents repeatedly descended upon the lot to make arrests.

Campos, of OLS, said the resource center was not a direct response to the airport raids, but said the city hoped the program would help drivers get connected with immigration resources nonetheless.

The resource center will also inform drivers about changes in the law that could affect them, Campos said. Notably, Illinois lawmakers passed legislation this year that permits rideshare drivers to form unions. The legislation awaits a signature from Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

The resource center is funded for one year with two yearlong options to extend if funding allows. The city set aside $250,000 in funding for the program’s first year.

“Chicago continues to lead the way in advancing workers’ rights and protections,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said in a statement. “The Driver Resource Center is now a reality, and it will ensure that Public Chauffeurs have access to critical resources, education, and support. As the industry and technology continue to evolve, it was a priority to ensure ride share drivers share in the benefits of this programming.”

Drivers looking for help can reach the resource center by texting or leaving a voicemail at 312-779-6890. Drivers can also reach out via email at gigalliance@thepeopleslobbyusa.org.

The resource center website is chicago.gov/drc.

©2026 Chicago Tribune. Visit at chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.