Pedicabs are a growing business and are going to be making their way downtown, but not without a price. Based on an ordinance introduced to the City Council yesterday, Mayor Daley is looking to regulate the pedicabs on Chicago streets by forcing pedicab bikers to get licensed and pay a fee. The borders for the pedicabs would be approximately Oak Street, LaSalle, Roosevelt and Lake Michigan and fares, while not regulated by the city, would have to be clearly posted, eliminating haggling. The license fee of $400 would only be issued to pedicab bikers who have, per the Sun-Times, "insurance to cover $50,000 worth of property damage, $100,000 to cover injuries to one passenger and $300,000 to cover multiple injuries." Pedicabs would also be limited to weekends and after 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. more ›

] From the Trib:

Developers, contractors and homeowners often hire private individuals known in City Hall parlance as expediters to apply for and obtain permits from the city...Some expediters argue that their reputations have been unfairly tarnished by the expediter-turned-government spy and another expediter who last year admitted bribing city workers to speed up the permit process.