Chicago cabbies are making some interesting demands from their councilmen. Last week, they asked the city hall powers that be to raise their overall rates by a whooping 22 percent and allow for a $1.50 credit card convenience fee and $1 for each dispatched phone call. The requests for bucks doesn't stop there.

The drivers are also demanding that folks who ride and puke in their cabs be forced to pay a $50 nuisance fee. ...

The complaining cabbies want the extra $50 because they claim that cleaning up puke is time consuming and could result in a possible loss of two hours of work. Cab drivers haven't received a fare increase since 2005, but the city last year enacted a fuel surcharge of up to $1 when gasoline costs spike.

In 2008, American Friends Service Committee and United Taxi Drivers Community Council approached assistant professor Dr. Robert Bruno and research assistant Jennifer Schneidman of the University of Illinois School of Labor and Employment Relations and proposed an academic study of Chicago taxicab drivers.

Although a few studies have reported on cab drivers in other urban areas, this is the first comprehensive study of Chicago drivers. The report, "Driven Into Poverty," revealed that Chicago taxicab drivers earn $4.38, well below both the state ($7.75 per hour) and federal ($6.55 per hour) minimum wage. Professor Bruno distributed the first part of this four-phase study to several alderman for review.

Mayor Richard Daley said his administration will consider the drivers' requests.