[Iabs-talk] chicago minutes April, 2019

Fri May 3 11:27:22 UTC 2019

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER MEETING

APRIL 13, 2019

At 1:05 P.M. President Steve Hastalis called the meeting to order. We
recited the NFB Pledge and the one minute message.

Program: Steve introduced Kim Liddell who gave us an overview of Medicare
and Medicaid. She also defined the roll of a Ship counsellor. Ship is an
acronym for Senior Health Insurance Program. One may find a Ship counsellor
in their area by googling Ship Counsellor State of Illinois. The roll of a
Ship counsellor is to provide unbiased counselling to individuals so that
they might find an insurance policy which best suits their needs. In order
to access Medicare information, one can call a Medicare hotline. One may ask
for any Medicare information to be made available to them in large print,
braille, or audio format. Call 800-medicare. 

What is Happening: Pam Provost has started a support group for blind folks
in the facility where she lives. David Meyer mentioned that Teresa is
continuing to respond well to cancer treatments. Pam Gillmore has been in
and out of the hospital. She seems to be doing reasonably well, but has both
good and bad days. Michael Nowicki started his first job as an attorney.
There were 27 members present.

Elections: The following people were elected to offices and board seats.
President David Meyer, First Vice-President Patti Chang, Second
Vice-President Jemal Powell, Secretary Eileen Truschke and Treasurer Steve
Hastalis. Board positions were filled by Denise Avant, Debbie Stein, Gina
Falvo and Marco Giannotti.

Presidential Reports: 

National Presidential Release: NFB President, Mark Riccobono reported on the
following items. The "Let us play us" protest in New York has just taken
place. The reason for the protest is a show called In the Dark which is just
being released. It features a blind character which is being played by a
sighted actor. The Apple plus television network will feature a show titled
See which features mostly blind characters. We are working with Apple to
insure that blind characters are appropriately cast. The National convention
will occur in three months. First-time attendees were encouraged to apply
for a Kenneth Jernigan convention scholarship. One must write a letter
stating how they feel the convention will benefit them. This should be
accompanied by a letter from the affiliate president. Those wishing to
reserve a hotel room need to get their reservations in soon. We are
continuing to build membership in the organization. We are asked to submit
stories on what the National Federation of the Blind has meant to us. We are
also encouraged to submit ideas that have worked well to recruit new
members. Please send submissions to officeofthepresident at nfb.org. We need to
reach out to former members who have not been with us for a few years. We
can do this by calling them, finding out how they are, and what they are
doing We need to let them know that we wish for them to be a part of us. We
are looking for applicants for several programs including our Distinguished
Educator of Blind Children. We now have a Blindness in Teaching Internship
program which will take place at our training centers in Colorado, Louisiana
and Minnesota. We're looking for teachers willing to do a one year
internship with us. Go to www.nfb.org for more details on this program.
Housing as well as a paid stipend will be provided. The following chapters
were recognized for their participation in the Preauthorized Contribution
Program, (PAC). Two local chapters in New Mexico, four chapters in New York
and five chapters in North Carolina. Members welcomed to the dream makers
circle are Ryan and Randi Strunk. Several federationists have passed away
including Ava Johnson of Michigan, Chris Yomomoto of Utah, Rosanne Faber of
Minnesota, and Dr. James Nyman of Nebraska. Sophia Shuttler of Louisiana is
our newest member.  Finally, the remodeling of the Barney Street wing has
begun. It should be completed by the end of September.

State Presidential Report

NFBI President Denise Avant reported on the following. Hotel rooms are still
available for the National convention in Los Vegas from July 7-12. Rates are
$99 nightly per room. Those wishing to receive assistance should apply to
the Chappell-Dennis fund. Applications can be found on our website,
www.nfbofillinois.org. Your application must be into Denise by May 1. Her
e-mail address is davant1958 at gmail.com. Our Braille Enrichment in Literacy
and Learning (Bell) programs will be happening soon. Our Springfield session
runs from June 10-14 and our Chicago program begins July 29 and runs through
August 9. Please spread the word as we need applicants for both programs.
Anyone wishing to volunteer should contact Amy Lund. As part of the state
Presidential Report, Marilyn Green gave a federal legislation update. The
Transformation to Competitive Employment Act, HR873-S260 has been
cosponsored in the senate by Tammy Duckworth. Please be sure to thank
Senator Duckworth for her actions. Denise then gave the microphone to David
Meyer and Bill Reif for a state legislation report. The bill which concerns
us most at this point is hb423 which is an education bill. There have been
six amendments to this bill, four of which were either withdrawn or did not
make it out of the rules committee. Presently, we will be supporting this
legislation as the existing proficiency requirements for reading and writing
braille are back in this bill, thanks to Amendment 5. Amendment 1 would have
eliminated these requirements. This bill has passed the house and is now in
assignments in the senate. We feel the bill will definitely make it to a
final vote in the senate. HB3340 the Dignity and Pay act was a bill which
closely resembled the Transformation to Competitive Employment act on the
federal level. Although there was much support and though more than 30 house
members cosponsored this legislation, it was withdrawn. This bill closely
resembled the Transformation to Competitive Employment act on the federal
level. The difference was that the Illinois bill stated that Section 14C of
the Fair Labor Standards Act would be eliminated in four years rather than
six years. The next state board meeting will occur on April 23 at 7:00 P.M.
The call-in number is 605-313-4819 and the access code is NFBI, (6324.)The
state convention will occur in Springfield at the Windom Hotel, October
18-20. Please call the hotel to reserve a room. Finally, if you wish to take
a chance on winning an all-expense paid trip to next year's convention plus
$1,000, Denise has Jernigan raffle tickets for sale. Please purchase one or
more. The Independence Market is always looking for volunteers at
convention. If you wish to volunteer, please contact
communityrelations at nfb.org. 

Committee Reports: David Meyer reported that the next fundraiser will be a
bowling fundraiser which will take place on Saturday, June 29 from 6:00-9:00
P.M. It will be held at Fireside Lanes, 2646 West Fullerton in Chicago. Cost
will be $20 for non-bowlers and $30 or $40 for bowlers. Everyone was
encouraged to form teams if possible. We will again have a White Sox
fundraiser. It will occur immediately following the August meeting, August
10. Tickets for this event will be $30 and the opponent will be the Oakland
A's. Those participating in the bowling fundraiser must have their count and
their money in by the June chapter meeting, June 8. Those ordering White Sox
tickets must place their orders with David Meyer by May 12. You may call him
at 708-209-1767 or you may e-mail him at datemeyer at sbcglobal.net. 

Membership: Robert Hansen encouraged everyone to bring new members into the
chapter. He also stated that fan-out calls should be made a week before the
meeting.

Old-New Business: Marilyn Green mentioned that the Access Technology
Affordability Act has been introduced in the house and the senate as HR2086
in the house and S815 in the senate. Michael Nowicki mentioned that the
Mandalay Bay hotel has minibars in each room, with contents in the
refrigerator. He also mentioned that the refrigerator had sensors that could
be activated without opening the refrigerator. Anytime a sensor is
activated, there will be an additional charge. Be careful. Steve attended
the Accessible Transportation Committee meeting. An issue that continues to
plague cabs in the city is the functionality of audible credit card readers.
If you encounter a problem using a credit card reader, either call 311 or
Steve. 

Treasurers Report: Marco Giannotti reported the following. Opening balance,
January 1, $4,511.18. Income, $1,000. Expenses, $975. Balance as of March
31, $4,536.18. The report was approved as given.

The meeting adjourned at 3:37 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted,

David Meyer, Secreetary.

David Meyer, NFB of Illinois

Coordinator and Channel Administrator, NFB-NewsLine

Chicago Chapter President