[IABS-Talk] FW: Justice Department Moves to Intervene in Disability Discrimination Suit Against City of Chicago Regarding Pedestrians with Visual Disabilities - U.S. DOJ - April 8, 2021

[Chang, Patti]

FYI, this is not a lawsuit brought by NFB, but I am sure people on this list
will want to have this update.
Justice Department Moves to Intervene in Disability Discrimination Suit
Against City of Chicago Regarding Pedestrians with Visual Disabilities
Office of Public Affairs U.S. DOJ April 8, 2021

The Justice Department today moved to intervene in a disability
discrimination lawsuit that private plaintiffs with visual disabilities
brought against the City of Chicago under the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act (Section 504). The
department's proposed complaint alleges that the city fails to provide
people who are blind, have low vision, or are deaf-blind with equal access
to pedestrian signal information at intersections. Pedestrian signal
information, such as a flashing "Walk/Don't Walk" signal, indicates when it
is safe to cross the street.
Accessible pedestrian signals (APSs) are devices that provide pedestrians
with safe-crossing information in a non-visual format, such as through
audible tones, speech messages, and vibrotactile surfaces. Since at least
2006, Chicago has recognized the need to install APSs for pedestrians with
visual disabilities. Yet, while Chicago currently provides sighted
pedestrians visual crossing signals at nearly 2,700 intersections, it has
installed APSs at only 15 of those intersections. The proposed suit alleges
that the lack of APSs at over 99% of Chicago's signalized intersections
subjects people who are blind, have low vision, or are deaf-blind to added
risks and burdens not faced by sighted pedestrians, including fear of injury
or death.
"The ADA and Section 504 require that individuals with disabilities have
equal access to public services, including access to pedestrian crossing
information that is critical for safety and for full participation in
community life," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela S.
Karlan of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. "Chicago has
determined that safe-crossing information is necessary for sighted
pedestrians to navigate throughout the city, and this suit seeks to ensure
that the city provides the same benefit to people with visual disabilities."
"The U.S. Attorney's Office is taking this action to ensure that Chicagoans
with disabilities are provided equal access to city services, particularly
those services whose purpose is public safety," said U.S. Attorney John R.
Lausch Jr. for the Northern District of Illinois. "We are concerned about
the serious lack of accessibility to safe intersection crossings for
Chicagoans who are blind, have low vision, or are deaf-blind, and we are
confident that our involvement in this important case will ultimately bring
a meaningful resolution to the city and its millions of residents, daily
commuters, and visitors."
The motion and complaint seeking intervention were jointly filed by the
Disability Rights Section of the department's Civil Rights Division and the
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois. The case is
being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Johnson and Sarah J.
North, and Trial Attorney Matthew Faiella. To read the motion to intervene,
please click here:
https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/eTdSC2k16yIYynXU1nMOI?domain=ada.gov.
For more information on the Civil Rights Division, please visit
https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/ZM5jC31K7zskNLli2xpV-?domain=justice.gov<h
ttps://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/_7hMC4xYgATVkLOUW8Vmx?domain=justice.gov>.
For more information on the ADA, please call the department's toll-free ADA
Information Line at 800-514-0301 (TDD 800-514-0383) or visit
https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/Wp2AC5y1jBUJNq7fxs-by?domain=ada.gov<https
://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/ILHDC68zkDsNwQviLVyIm?domain=ada.gov>.  Members
of the public may report possible civil rights violations at
https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/xi62C73WlECg73KC0F31n?domain=civilrights.j
ustice.gov.


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