At least a grand? In 12 hours? Quick reality check: LAX has more expensive cabs than Chicago, but let's assume they're equal. A ~30 minute ride to the airport

At least a grand? In 12 hours? Quick reality check: LAX has more expensive cabs than Chicago, but let's assume they're equal. A ~30 minute ride to the airport costs me, including tip, ~$40. A quick verify shows that Chicago is actually $41 for a 31 minute ride, no tip. (http://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=Chicago&from=Navy+Pier%2C+Inc%2C+East+Grand+Avenue%2C+Chicago%2C+IL&to=ORD http://www.taxifarefinder.com/main.php?city=Chicago&from...) Given that people need to get in/out of the cab, etc, I think we can stay with $40/30 minutes. That's $80 per hour. $960 if the 12 hours are completely booked solid and people tip well. And unless he's an independent operator with his own license (which would run him $300K - http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/bacp/publicvehicleinfo/medallionowners/2013mintaximedtransferfees.pdf http://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/bacp/pub...), he doesn't get to keep all that. I'd think your buddy was maybe telling a slightly tall tale based on that one night where he ended up with almost a grand in cash at the end of the shift. :)