The total number of licensed cabdrivers in Chicago is nearly 9,500 — the lowest in a decade — while the average value of a taxi medallion required to operate a cab has plummeted to about $66,000 this year from a peak of $349,000 in 2013, according to city data. The number of new drivers entering into the taxi industry, which is often an entry point into the workforce for immigrants, also has slowed to close to 300 this year as of Oct. 6, down from about 770 last year and 1,350 in 2014.