Illinois Uber Settlement: $10M Chicago Deal and Uber One Lawsuit

The main Uber settlement in Illinois is the $10 million agreement the City of Chicago reached with Uber in December 2022, which compensated restaurants that were listed on Uber Eats or Postmates without permission or charged commissions above the city’s pandemic-era 15% cap. A separate matter is still pending: Illinois joined a federal lawsuit in December 2025 challenging how Uber signs people up for, and lets them cancel, its Uber One subscription service. That case has not produced any payments to consumers.

The $10 Million Chicago Settlement

Chicago’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection had been investigating Uber since 2021 over two practices on Uber Eats and Postmates, which Uber acquired in 2020. The first was listing Chicago restaurants on the apps without the owners’ consent. The second was charging restaurants commissions above the 15% cap Chicago set in an emergency ordinance passed in November 2020 to help restaurants during pandemic dining restrictions.¹²

The unauthorized listings created real problems, not just paperwork ones. According to the city, customers were sometimes directed to competitors, restaurants were falsely shown as closed when they were open, and delivery drivers mishandled food because they had no established relationship with the business.¹

Uber denied wrongdoing as part of the agreement. The city said the company had cooperated during the investigation.³

How the Money Was Split

The $10 million was divided across five categories, targeting different groups of restaurants and the city itself:

$3.3 million that Uber had already refunded in September 2021 to restaurants charged above the 15% cap, prompted by the city’s investigation.⁴
$2.25 million in additional payments to restaurants overcharged on commissions. Every eligible restaurant received at least $200, and some received more than $10,000. These payments went out automatically by the end of 2022.⁵
$500,000 in cash for restaurants that had been listed without consent and did not currently have a contract with Uber Eats or Postmates. The fund was split evenly among qualifying restaurants, capped at $1,000 each.⁶
$2.5 million in commission waivers. Restaurants listed without consent could opt into at least 44 weeks of commission-free delivery and marketing services through Uber Eats, including order data access, a tablet, and a menu photo shoot.⁶
$1.5 million to the City of Chicago to cover the cost of the investigation.¹

Who Had To File a Claim

The claim requirement depended on which category a restaurant fell into. Restaurants overcharged on fees did not have to do anything; those payments were issued automatically. Restaurants that had been listed without consent and wanted the cash payment had to submit an attestation through the city’s portal by January 29, 2023. Restaurants seeking commission waivers instead of cash could contact Uber directly.⁷

The January 2023 deadline has passed. Restaurants that missed it and were listed without consent no longer have a route to the cash fund through this settlement.

What Uber Had To Change

The settlement also imposed forward-looking requirements. Uber had to obtain written consent from restaurants before listing them or arranging pickup and delivery. An Uber executive had to certify that all non-consenting restaurants had been removed. The company was barred from enforcing nondisclosure agreements with Chicago restaurants regarding the investigation, and it was prohibited from raising fees on restaurants or consumers to recoup the settlement’s cost.⁶

The Pending Uber One Lawsuit Illinois Joined

The other active matter involving Illinois and Uber is not a settlement. In December 2025, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined a coalition of 21 states and the District of Columbia in an amended federal complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission against Uber over its Uber One subscription service, which costs $9.99 per month or $96 per year.⁸

The complaint alleges that Uber enrolled people in Uber One without their knowledge or clear consent, including by automatically converting free trials into paid subscriptions. It also alleges the company failed to deliver advertised benefits, with some subscribers still being charged delivery fees despite promises of “$0 delivery,” and made canceling unreasonably hard. The FTC says users could be forced to navigate as many as 23 screens and take 32 separate actions to cancel.⁹

Uber has called the claims “misguided,” saying its enrollment and cancellation processes are “clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law.”¹⁰

Where the Case Stands

In April 2026, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar in the Northern District of California ruled on Uber’s motion to dismiss and allowed most of the FTC’s claims to proceed, including allegations that Uber violated the Restore Online Shoppers’ Confidence Act by failing to disclose material terms before collecting billing information and by not providing a simple way to cancel. The judge also affirmed that the 21 states in the coalition have standing to bring the case.⁹

Trial is currently scheduled for February 2027.¹¹ Because the case is still in litigation, there is no claim process, no payment fund, and no established mechanism for Illinois Uber One subscribers to recover money at this stage. If a settlement or judgment is reached later, the terms would determine who qualifies and how to file.

A Note on Driver Cases

Illinois has also seen litigation over whether Uber drivers are employees or independent contractors, but none of it has produced a settlement paying Illinois drivers. Uber classifies drivers as independent contractors, and Illinois courts have generally enforced the arbitration clauses in Uber’s driver agreements. No Illinois court or regulator has successfully reclassified Uber drivers as employees, and the state has not enacted a broad gig-worker reclassification law comparable to California’s AB5.¹² Drivers searching for a payout from an Illinois-based settlement will not find one on the record so far.

1
NBC Chicago. Uber Eats, Postmates Agree to $10 Million Settlement With City of Chicago
2
Restaurant Business Online. Uber Eats to Pay $10M to Settle Investigation by City of Chicago
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ABC 7 Chicago. Uber Eats, Postmates Agree to $10M Settlement With City of Chicago
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Restaurant Dive. Uber Agrees to $10 Million Settlement With Chicago Over Delivery Practices
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City of Chicago. Uber Settlement Restaurant FAQ
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City of Chicago. Uber Settlement Agreement
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Convenience Store News. Uber Eats $10 Million Settlement Chicago Delivery
8
FTC. FTC, States File Amended Complaint Against Uber for Deceptive Billing and Cancellation Practices
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Courthouse News Service. Judge Allows Most FTC Claims Against Uber to Survive
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The Daily Record. Maryland, FTC, Uber One Deceptive Billing Lawsuit
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ABC 7 Chicago. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul Joins Lawsuit Against Uber Subscription Service
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DuPage County Bar Association. Gig Workers and Independent Contractor Classification in Illinois