[IABS-Talk] february minutes for chicago

[David Meyer]

Hello Everyone,

The Chicago February minutes are finally on NewsLine. Thank you Bob 
Widman for pointing out my error. As it has been awhile since the 
minutes were posted on our list serves again, I am pasting them in 
below my note so all may see them.




Chicago Chapter Meeting Notes

Hybrid (At Exchequer & on Zoom)

February 12, 2022



Patti began the meeting at 1:02pm and called the meeting to order. She 
checked to ask if Patrice Johnson has made it in and she announced that 
she had. She welcomed introductions first on Zoom-land as we usually 
start in-person. She then asked that everyone share their name, 
favorite winter restaurant, any federation fuzzies, something to relay 
or health concerns.
If anyone is planning to stay after the meeting to see Dave Andrews in 
person, the only option, Debbie Stein is counting so please announce 
when introduction takes place.



Patti Chang - 1st Vice President, Denise sends her regrets, she is on 
an ABA Meeting. She is the chair of the disability rights commission, 
so she is conducting other federation business. Favorite winter 
restaurant is Ginos out by where they live, near OHare and she is staying.

She asked Dustin to call down the names so people dont speak all at once.
David Meyer - Favorite restaurant at all time of the year is the Golden 
Steer which is in their neck of the woods, its a steakhouse.

Gina Falvo - Live from Homewood, favorite restaurant for the winter is 
home as she is mostly there but if she does go get something there is a 
restaurant close by called Blueberry Hill where she does pick up or 
Orelios Pizza, home is a good place to be for the winter.

Todd Lively - Happy to be back at the federation, his favorite 
wintertime restaurant would be the Home Run Inn pizza right in his own home.

Eileen Truschke - Hello and happy Lincolns birthday to everybody, 
favorite winter restaurant is Burgundy, around Austin and Irving Park. 
Its a pancake house that she and Ken go to every Saturday after bowling 
and its really good stuff year round.

Alicia ConDios Green - Hello to everyone, favorite winter restaurant 
would be home.

Glenn Moore - Favorite winter restaurant is the Village Squire, there 
is a couple out in the suburbs. Not a fuzzy but after a long while he 
has his braces off but is now stuck with a retainer.

Ken Schad - Favorite winter restaurant is also Burgundy.

Patricia

Dan Tevelde - He is in Forest Park but it's a toss-up between the 
Golden Steer and an Italian Restaurant in Oak Park, Salernos. They have 
really good pizza and Italian American food. No fuzzy stories but also 
no bad stories, things are ok.

Greg Rosenberg - Out in Tinley Park at his house, favorite winter 
restaurant is anything serving up a big bowl of hot soup chili or stew, 
since that is what you look forward to in the winter. But, his favorite 
restaurant is India House that makes a wonderful Indian chicken noodles 
soup. Health is on the mend, finally off the nebulizer and able to 
breathe better now, shortness of breath is mostly gone and is more 
comfortable than he was after the allergic reaction to his COVID 
booster back in November.

Juliette Walker - Favorite restaurant is Etos, Asian Fusion restaurant 
in Hyde Park. Bad news to share, Theresa Patterson Jones passed on 
February 3 and her services were yesterday and she wanted us to 
remember her family in their prayers. She will be missed. Patti noted 
that she was sorry to hear that.

Kira OBradovich - Favorite winter restaurant, Milk & Honey here in 
Chicago, thanks to all for their work on Washington Seminar this past 
week, it went really well, and it was great to be a part of it.

Nadia Sherman - Hope everyone is doing good and staying safe out there. 
Her favorite winter restaurant is Ann Sathers, they are known for their 
cinnamon rolls, in Chicago on Belmont and Sheffield. To Greg and 
everyone, she will keep them in her thoughts.



In Person

Robert Hansen - Favorite year-round is Charcoal Delight at Foster and 
Kedzie, real good food and its affordable thats why he loves it. He is 
not staying.

Ken Borst - Favorite restaurant of all time is Stellas Diner which is 
located over on the southwest corner on Brockway and Berry in the New 
Town Wrigleyville area not too far from where he lives. He is not 
staying. A week from today is his 43rd anniversary of relocating from 
Hammond, IN to Chicago, IL. Mary Lou wished him a happy anniversary.

Steve Hastalis - He got rid of the COVID (met with cheers) he stayed 
home and communicated through zoom for the January chapter meeting and 
the doctor said you have taken the vaccines and the booster, so he 
would have an annoying cold for a few weeks and management had him 
quarantine so that is what he did. He is planning on staying. His 
favorite restaurant is Exchequer, this one.

Debbie Stein - She agreed with Patti and voted for Ginos Pizza on 
Westchester road; they have the best chili on a cold day, its terrific.
Some may have heard but her brother Gordon was in a terrible accident 
and was severely burned and is being treated in an intensive care burn 
center in Washington DC. Thoughts and prayers are very much 
appreciated. Patti said to please let us know if there is anything we can do.

Francisco Chang - Favorite restaurant is Las Palmas Restaurant which he 
likes because they give

free tequila shots which will warm you up on a winter day. He will be staying.

Dustin Cather - Flying Saucer off California and Division is his 
favorite spot, a hipster breakfast spot that is really good. He will 
not be staying.

Michal Nowicki - Treasurer of the NFB of Illinois. There are many to 
choose from but will go with an iconic pizza place, Reginas Pizza on 
the North End in Boston. He is staying for dinner.

Marco Giannotti - A difficult question but The Gage is his favorite and 
he asked if Mary was staying, she said Oh yes, so he is staying too. 
Patti noted he had to ask the boss.

Mary Lou Grunwald - A hard question but said its a tie between our 
wonderful Exchequer and Remingtons. Her fuzzy is that this week she got 
to participate in Washington Seminar virtual style and its a completely 
new experience for her and many new lessons were learned. It was 
enjoyable and a little bit scary.

Bill Reif - So many to choose from, like Pizannos, but the Brick House 
his is favorite, in Springfield. With the winter theme you want to make 
sure they have some good coffee and cocktails, and they do. He will 
stay and also has a friend Freddy who is going to be joining him 
shortly and will be staying as well.

Pam Gilmore - She is staying. Her favorite restaurant is Cracker 
Barrel, which was met with cheers, she is most familiar with the one in 
Naperville.

Ellen Bartelt - She said one of her favorite restaurants is Wildberry 
which was also met with cheers. She is planning on staying.

Sarah Luna - She was a bit disappointed when she heard the question, 
was hoping for favorite winter sport,s he was going to tell us all 
about snowboarding and figure skating. She loves Connies Pizza, on 
Archer & Halsted, her favorite place to get deep dish.

Marilyn Green - Hello, she is your wonderful state president, her 
favorite is anywhere where she can get a hot cup of soup or chili is 
her favorite winter restaurant and yes, she is staying.

Edward Ocompo - First time here, his favorite Buffalo Wings & Rings on 
35th and Halsted.

Bruce Paul - He shared that they did not get a lot of snow and ice so 
fortunately his back porch was clear most of the winter, so it was easy 
to get the trash out of the house and plans to stay after. His favorite 
restaurant is Alinea if you want to take me. He will be staying afterwards.

Dave Andrews - He knows many personally as he lived in Chicago in mid 
1980s and was the general manager at KRIS Radio as many others will 
recognize his name from our lists. He said he does not know what his 
favorite restaurant is so wherever he is in at the time so as Patti 
pointed out its Exchequer. He said his favorite part about winter is 
when its spring, he lives in Minnesota where its even worse. He is staying.



Patti then welcomed Patrice Johnson, the president of the talking books 
center, which is a part of CPL and the national library service for the 
disabled. She works with the assistive resources and talking books 
center which provides an array of library services and she will let her 
tell what they provide and answer any questions we may have including 
updates on the services.



Patrice Johnson, thanked Denise for being here to join in and share an 
update on the current services that are available at the CPL. Its nice 
to hear new and old voices, and her favorite restaurant is Ajamas 
Kitchen which is Korean fusion but in Chinatown but its a fun place to 
visit. She then stated she would launch into an overview but welcomed 
questions or feedback during the presentation to ensure she does not 
think we hsve fallen asleep on her. She is the manager of the CPL 
Assistive Resources and Talking Books Center. Located at the Harold 
Washington Library Center at 400 S State Street. For patrons that use 
paratransit use 401 S Plymouth Court. Its the largest library building 
in the country. They provide an array of services, resources, 
materials, and technology that helps eliminate barriers for individuals 
with disabilities, limited English proficiency persons, and senior 
adults. This center is also responsible for meeting the reading and 
information needs of nearly 2,000 Chicagoans experiencing print 
disabilities throughout partnerships with the National Library Service 
for the Print Disabled, Library of Congress, and Illinois State library 
talking book and braille service.



Some of their key services and resources include assistive technology 
software, hardware, equipment, devices, talking book and braille 
library service, readers advisory reference and referral assistance, 
video of American sign language assistance, one on one assistance with 
specific tasks and technology, specialized library collection 
materials, events and programming and outreach activities and community events.



She then spoke about the key services they provide. The first and most 
consistent service are the assistive technology resources and services 
they offer. They have 3 private tech rooms and five semiprivate 
stations. These are available for use by qualifying patrons with 
disabilities. Appointments strongly encouraged but not required if a 
station is available for use.
Qualifying patrons can contact (3 1 2) 7 4 7-4 0 0 1 to schedule an 
appointment.
They do have a 1-800 number but its currently still being installed so 
call their local number. With the tech room workstations, they have a 
wide variety of technology but for the most part they are for visual 
and physical disabilities, including Dragon, speech recognition, 
Duxbury, braille translation, Fusion, as well as JAWS and Kurzweil 300 
and ZoomText magnification. In terms of hardware, in their private tech 
rooms they have 40focus, Juliet Pro Braille Embossers, they are in the 
midst of an upgrade and the new ones will be index embossers. Perkins 
Braillers, desktop SARA Scan & Read, Topaz video magnifiers now updated 
to include OCR so they can magnify and scan and read text which is 
great for seniors or those not familiar with the tech of SARA Scan & 
Read. They also have trackball mouse for individuals who have issues 
using a standard mouse and also have video cameras with microphones.



With the pandemic, they were only closed for about 4-6 weeks but there 
was a perception that assistive technology did not need to open as it 
was not needed. However, many called and asked for help and so webcams 
and virtual help had to be added. For the individual tech centers, they 
have Dragon, Duxbury, JAWS, ZoomText, headphones, magnifiers, Sorenson 
video relay service for anyone that communicates primarily by ASL. They 
also have a partnership with Language line, they have a station that 
offers sign language interpretation and translation so anyone that 
comes that needs to communicate in ASL they have access to a live ASL 
interpreter available.
They have a specialized collection including the talking book and 
braille services including large print on the seventh floor of the 
building but is also available system wide as well. They are the BARD 
administration, improving and troubleshooting, that is their 
responsibility. They have a small collection of descriptive videos, 
provide outreach services, and all of the things that normally come 
with talking book and braille service, the reader advisory and the reference.


Wanted to share a little bit about how people use the technology, to 
access emails, search the internet, to work on homework. They have 
provided support for students before but with the pandemic in-person 
learning went virtual so several patrons whose university courses went 
online but they lacked the skills or the technology to do this from 
home, so they came to the office and got set up and able to use the 
tech to attend their courses. A lot of disability student services were 
shut down which was for her personally inexcusable, so they worked to 
transcribe materials into braille as well.
The application for government services also closed so the library had 
to step in and help. Its surprising how many still are not yet open, 
for instance the Secretary of State closed in January again, so people 
were coming in to use their services at the library. People braille 
embossed documents, completed digital forms, scanned digital audio 
format. They have assisted with employment services, library research, 
conducting virtual interviews, helping them with support in job search 
like creating their resume and preparing them for interviews for 
whatever subject or field they are going into. They also set people up 
with courses for online skills and provided troubleshooting with 
personal devices.



A few new updates exist. There is new leadership, Karen Kinninger 
retired last year but thankfully they secured Jason Broughton as the 
new director for CPL, he is very committed and has a lot of passion. 
With everything going online, they have had several virtual meetings. 
Another update for those who are talking about topics, this year for 
2020, as a result of the paper supply issues nationwide, they have 
decided last minute to suspend talking book topics in large print just 
for this year but there are other avenues to access this information. 
They met last week to discuss how they are going to get the word out, 
but the same content is available in a variety of different ways, 
online, available on NFB Newsline which is much appreciated.
The unfortunate thing, statistically NLS serves a senior population 
without tech skills, so they expect people to be upset about it, but 
they will navigate it the best way they can. Their families often help 
them to access the info so hopefully they can continue to do so.



Patti noted that we suggest that they refer people to NFB Newsline 
because there is still the good old fashioned phone call and she had a 
question, she shared that the NFB now has started of Accessibility 
boutiques for online training. All of them are free, conducted over 
zoom, not for complete beginners but they go from beginner to expert 
and she said if she was not getting info, she would add her to the 
newsletter. Patrice said she may have missed it but will do her 
librarian googling and will showcase and share it with the other things 
that are out there. She asked what some of the things were that were 
covered. Patti mentioned the most recent one done was related to 
streaming services, they aren't always work or career related. This one 
focused on streaming services like Netflix, Disney Plus, and Comcast 
Spectrum Access program and they have done basics of using a 
magnification with android phones, voiceover basics. Patrice asked if 
the archives are on the NFB websites and Patti said that they were and 
would share them with her.



Patrice noted that two hands were raised, the first, Eileen, asked if 
the talking topics Book would be available on recording. Her mother 
normally gets a recording of the talking book topics. Patricia said if 
she is receiving them on the cartridge version that will continue. 
Their first response is to offer people the cartridge, in audio format. 
The initial feedback from discussion is that people do not want to 
listen to that many hours of book descriptions, she thinks it s an 
attention span issue and so NLS is going to work on a couple of things 
to make the audio a little more user friendly, for instance not having 
to go from start to finish.



Dave said that the Chicago Talking Book Center is part of the overall 
state library program and the IL Talking Book and braille service 
newsletter, which is quarterly, is available on NFB Newsline. He knows 
there was talk of the National Library service coming out with a 
talking book machine that could be used with WIFI so that you could 
download directly to the machine.
He wondered if there had been any advancement to that issue. He also 
asked if a person is in the suburbs can they make an appointment with 
you to use the services that are available.



Patrice stated that they are continuing to work on the player, it came 
up at the last meeting. The CPL has had a center since it existed since 
it was funded by the state library. But in 2016 with a budget impasse, 
they began working to save money and so the talking book center closed. 
Prior to that she worked in that center, but they still have what they 
call the assistive technology center thanks to advocacy from staff and 
patrons. In 2021, they brought on new leadership at the CPL and they 
have great leadership who were very open to her suggestion to bring 
back the service. During the pandemic the Illinois State Library 
Talking Book and Braille service closed down.
They still had a book club going and so she was hearing lots of 
feedback by those who did not have the books. She is happy they have 
the service back but now the CPL is funding the service, autonomy 
exists now from the State Librarys Service. They are partners with the 
state but are also independent.



fAnd yes, she said anyone from the suburbs can come since they have a 
reciprocal borrowing understanding with most of the surrounding 
suburbs. She suggested he called first and make an appointment, on the 
busiest day they have had 5-6 and on the slowest just one. They have 
been busier and that is a good thing. She also noted that the new 
player is in process and they are doubling down on it as a result of 
the pandemic but with the supply chain issues make it even more 
important that the digital version be available soon but there is no 
date. She knows that the new braille readers will come out way faster 
than that new digital talking book player, but they are pressing forward.



Patti asked if we knew were Illinois lined up for the braille players.
Patrice said the director of NLS was looking at trying to have them 
available next year for sure for wide distribution. At this stage in 
the game there is no longer a cue of states lined up to do pilot 
testing. The next step is just the wide national distribution. Patti 
asked for an estimate and Patrice said 2023, Patti noted that was the 
same for Humanware.
Patrice said there are no supply chain issue related to that but that 
common sense would say 2023 but 2022 would be great. Patti said they 
should revolutionize Braille.



Dan shared that he wanted to be a part of the pilot but got about ten 
different answers and could not get anyone to explain how to do so. He 
also shared that he does not need braille books because he can download them.
Patrice said that when the CPL managed the Illinois State program, 
before she started working with the talking books center, they 
separated out as subregional and then the subregional was housed in the 
Roosevelt road location and then Harold Washington. But then IL decided 
to take it over and at that time all of the Braille that had been 
housed at Roosevelt got put in a storage warehouse and several years 
later when they tried to move it, they found it was covered in mold and 
had to be thrown out. As a result, Utah began to take over for 
Illinois. To this day, the Illinois State Library pays the Utah braille 
service for Illinois patrons. They also do it for about 4 or 5 other 
states so its not unusual, but it meant that the IL State Library did 
not directly service it's patrons with braille service.
When pilots were rolled out then they only went with libraries 
currently circulating their own braille to its patrons. Illinois was 
therefore not a part of it as they did not do that. The head of the IL 
state Library was going to retire at the end of 2019, but because they 
did not have a new director and then the pandemic happened, she stayed 
on. Its very important to have a director in place when decisions are 
made so she cannot speak to how everything unfolded. Because IL was not 
circulating braille they were not at the table to have patrons pilot 
it. But, thanks to some local people who advocated to get the players 
in the hand so IL patrons so they could get their hands on it and she 
is pretty sure it was NFB as all those she is worked with are from the NFB.



Marilyn said hello and that it was nice to hear Patrices voice again as 
she has known and worked with her at CPL for many years. She has said 
one of her colleagues has asked this time and time again. New York 
Public Library has a grant program that allows their patrons to have 
book share. She asked if that was something that CPL has looked into 
and might think of looking into.
Patrice said she has been advocating for book share and has had several 
meetings on it while working with someone on book share and did a 
library conference together on these services. She loves the NFB but 
sometimes they speak up a little more. It was kind of just her banging 
the lid by herself to get book share. She is a big advocator but she 
wont advocate for a service that will go unused. She said that while 
she was asking, she did not have any patrons there asking for it. Patti 
said they would talk offline on this discussion to ensure we could 
provide support to advocate for this addition.
She mentioned there was a powerful person in the NFB who asked for a 
service to be available at the center, two commissioners ago, and the 
service was put in place and no one used it. So, she wants to defend 
CPL but its really important that once something is implemented it is used.



Bruce Paul asked if there were services to provide training and support 
for software on the iPhone, specifically BARD. Patrice said it is not 
going anywhere as its a part of the national library service and 
Chicago oversees and troubleshoots it locally. For the rest of the 
state, its done at the state level. He then asked if there was a way to 
make the API public so that the search is easy to use and people can 
develop open-source apps to do so.
Patrice said that anything they have designed has to be propriety in 
order to make sure the program continues to exist. That is why the 
third-party players that have access to the content are tightly managed 
so that when there are budget cuts then it needs to be shown it needs 
to exist. The other factor is that the content belongs to publishers, 
so it needs to be protected, ensure its only used for people with 
disabilities, and so it moves slow on purpose. She offered to pass 
along any requests through Denise or Patti. She always wanted to share 
that nationwide, usership is going down for NLS service and this trend 
started before the pandemic looking at BARD and services that exist the 
users need to be consistent and need to grow in order to continue to 
receive financial support. We need to make sure that those who can use 
the service do so they would appreciate any publicity we can offer. 
Patti offered to help anyone who wanted to sign up for these services 
and Patrice offered that anyone who wants to reach out can email her at 
patjohn at chipublib.org <mailto:patjohn at chipublib.org> . Patrice also 
said that she has a sibling who started their work at CPL before her 
and so they took the Pjohn, she is from a family of seven children who 
all have names that begin with "P" and to please not call her Pat.



Finally Patrice wanted to share that NLS has an aspiring leaders 
program for summer 2022, a great program for those interested in being 
a part of the national library service and she can send that 
information out to Patti and she will distribute. She noted it was 
posted once by Debbie but will be posted again. She thanked Patrice and 
everyone gave her a hand. Patrice said to enjoy the rest of their day 
and their lunch.



Patti then asked Pam Gilmore to lead us in the NFB Pledge and to 
introduce a fun little fundraiser. I pledge to participate actively in 
the effort of the National Federation of the Blind to achieve equality, 
opportunity, and security for the blind; to support the policies and 
programs of the Federation; and to abide by its constitution.



Pam shared that she would be hosting a mini auction. The item is pound 
of chocolate covered cashews. She said it was similar to the Christmas 
auction, cash up front is preferred but a check is acceptable. She 
asked if someone was ready to take the money and Steve volunteered. 
Patti also noted you could pay on Zelle, we will take your money any 
way we can. Pam shared that this could be done at any time of the year 
at the most two items, and if you know of an item you want to put into 
the auction you can call Pam at
(7 7 3) 6 8 5-1 8 9 3. If we know ahead of time what your item will be 
to garner interest and allow people to know to bring money that would 
be ideal. Gift cards, electronics in good condition, fine wine, fine 
liquor, etc. They do ask that they be small enough to carry. If you are 
on zoom you can participate but we will need to find a way to get it to 
you by mail or another way. We will continue to have these mini pop-up 
auctions. The opening bid because they were expensive, is $15. She 
asked if she heard $15 Debbie Stein, then $20 Robert, $22, $25 Stein, 
$30 from Marco, $32, $35, Dave said $40, $45?, $45 Marco, $50?, $50 
Marilyn and sold to Marilyn for $50.



Patti then asked that Dave play the Presidential Release which can 
always be found in audio and print at 
https://nfb.org/resources/publications-and-media/presidential-releases



Patti then invited those in the room and on zoom to participate in a 
collection. Both PayPal and Zelle are options. The affiliate really 
appreciates it. She then went back to ensure we had those two arrived 
after introductions to be able to introduce themselves including Bruce 
Paul and Dave Andrews. (Their names were noted at the start of these 
minutes in the official list.) Dustin shared a total of 33 who were in 
attendance at this meeting.



Patti then turned it over to Marilyn Green who noted that she will 
speak briefly and pass it on to others. She said she wanted everyone to 
know that we have our next state affiliate board meeting for February 
21st at 7pm and the agenda will go out one day next week. The call in 
and zoom information is the same that has been used for the past year 
and a half. Committee reports are due in by February 15th so please be 
sure to send them to her at president at nfbofillinois.org 
<mailto:president at nfbofillinois.org> . She was sad to hear President 
Riccobono did not talk about National Convention, but National 
Convention is in New Orleans, LA this year, July 5-10 so be sure to 
book your trip soon. The number for Marriott Reservations is (8 0 0) 6 
5 4-3 9 9 0, the Sheraton is directly across the street for overflow 
and where the exhibit hall is located. The room rate is $109 per night.



Marilyn then turned it over to Ellen to discuss the Midwest Student Seminar.
Ellen shared that the dates are March 18-20 and registration is still open.
Registration fee is $100 and through February 1st the Chappel Dennis 
scholarship was available. It will take place at OHare and the room is 
$109 as long as you mention the NFB to get that discounted rate. It 
will be in person as of now and all will be required to give a COVID 
test result prior to the seminar and vaccination cards will be required 
to enter the event.
Patti also mentioned they could visit nfbofillinois.org and look for 
Student Seminar. Sarah shared that they have voted to move the 
registration to March 1 which is also the last day to make a 
reservation for a hotel room.


Next, Debbie Stein spoke about Bell. (A bell was audibly rung) It will 
run for two weeks at the Chicago Lighthouse from July 18-July 29. With 
just a weekend to shift gears and get reoriented, Springfield Bell will 
take place from August 1-August 5. The sign-up page is now up on the 
national BELL website and volunteers will be needed to help out with 
both of those programs. If interested in helping, please contact Debbie 
at dkent5817 at att.net <mailto:dkent5817 at att.net>  (7 7 3) 2 0 3-1 3 9 4. 
Everyone who volunteers with the NFB in any program that involves 
children including BELL will need to go through a background check. If 
you volunteered last summer, when a year has passed you will need to 
have them done again. Please be in touch with her and they will work 
out the details. Patti shared that there is also an in-home bell with 
one session at three levels, beginning, intermediate, and advanced. 
Debbie is also coordinating and looking for volunteers for in-home via 
Zoom as well.



Debbie then shared that the application page for the state scholarship 
is up, this is first year that state applications will be able to be 
filled out online thanks to our wonderful webmaster Brian Mackey. The 
national scholarship is also available online at 
www.nfb.org/scholarships <http://www.nfb.org/scholarships> . Be sure to 
apply for both programs and tell your friends and family and 
acquaintances and neighbors who might be available. The national 
scholarship this year will no longer be graduated amounts, instead all 
will be in the amount of $8,000 and we will offer at least two state 
scholarships in the amount of $5,000. In order to apply the application 
form needs to be filled out and a letter of recommendation, current or 
most recent transcript, a personal essay of 750 words, and a proof of 
blindness must be provided. These amounts will have an impact to help 
defray some of your expenses as well as getting to know students who 
may be potential leaders in this organization. Pattie pointed out that 
she sees some of those people in this room who have come through the 
scholarship program.



Dustin then spoke about Washington Seminar which concluded last 
Thursday and thanked the Illinois delegation, Denise Avant, Steve 
Hastalis, Marilyn Green, Mary Lou Grunwald, Kira OBradovich, Ellen 
Bartelt, Debbie Gooden, Amari Richardson. He thanked everyone who also 
joined the team on the Zoom Calls. He shared that they were able to 
meet with all representatives except for Kinzinger, Garcia, & Miller. 
They will continue to work to reach out to schedule an appointment with 
these individuals. There is an additional meeting on February 18th with 
Rep. Schneider and also reaching out to those offices who were unable 
to schedule a meeting with us during that week.

HR 4381 Access Technology Affordability Act, currently has 131 cosponsors,
14 of which are from Illinois. The only four who have yet to cosponsor 
are Bustos, Foster, Miller, & Kinzinger and in the Senate, Senator 
Tammy Duckworth has signed on to the companion bill S-212. The bill 
allocates a several thousand-dollar tax credit to purchase Assistive 
Technology.

The Transformation to Competitive Employment act now has Quigley and 
Schakowsky as cosponsors. It phases out Section 14c.

He then spoke on HR 4853, the Medical Device Non-Visual Accessibility 
Act which authorizes the FDA to create guidelines and requirements for 
manufacturers to make medical devices non-visually accessible and 
currently has 18 cosponsors with 2 from Illinois, our Champion 
Schakowsky who introduced the bill and Rep. Casten who is now a 
cosponsor. The 21st Century Website and Accessibility Act has not yet 
been introduced in the house, but the NFB is hoping to get it 
introduced in the near future and will work to garner support. There is 
a lot more work to do following Washington Seminar so please continue 
to reach out to your representatives to ask for support for the NFB's 
initiatives and reach out to Dustin or Denise with questions.
Pattie thanked everyone who made appointments, Dustin thanked Dave for 
helping out. Patti then asked if anyone had questions.



Steve mentioned that work has just begun but that work includes writing 
to our elected officials urging them to cosponsor and thanking them for 
their support. Bruce stated that he wanted to sign on for some of the 
accessible at home stuff. One of the biggest problems he has had living 
by himself has been a struggle with basic medical needs and wanted to 
know if anyone has had any success in getting their gym to be 
accessible, he would appreciate some advice. Patti asked him to provide 
his number if anyone wanted to reach him. Bruce shared that his number 
is (3 1 2) 5 9 3-3 0 1 3 and he can be reached anytime between 6pm and 
midnight with suggestions. There were no further questions.



A motion was called to approve the secretarys January Minutes, Marilyn 
moved to approve, and was seconded by Bill Reif, motion was carried. 
Patti then asked for the balance from Steve, which is $6,723 at the 
beginning of todays meeting and we received $50 for the mini auction 
Zelle and $69 for the monthly collection via cash. Patti pointed out 
that it is a healthy treasury and hopefully some monthly collections 
will come from Zelle. Steve noted that the person across the table from 
him donated via Zelle.



Patti then welcomed committee reports.

Kira shared that the legislative committee will be meeting on zoom on 
this same line on Tuesday, March 8 at 7pm. Dave shared that the 
fundraising committee will meet on Wednesday, February 23rd at 7pm and 
he will be putting an announcement out for zoom credentials because 
they will be using his account not the state affiliates. Steve noted we 
got an additional $20 for the monthly collection, now up to $89. Patti 
thanked everyone and noted that does not include online donations. Pam 
reminded everyone that we will not have a chapter meeting in March due 
to the student seminar so the next Chapter meeting will be on April 
9th, when she is in Belize.



Patti then asked for any old business. Steve said that if anyone needs 
to pay dues and wants to vote in May, they need to pay dues 30 days in 
advance of vote. Elections will be on April 9 and therefore this is the 
only chance to pay in person today otherwise it can be done online. It 
was reiterated that there will be no meeting and no need to show up on 
March 12.



Patti then asked for any new business and then asked for a motion to 
adjourn, Motion was passed, and the meeting was adjourned. The meeting 
adjourned at 3:05pm.



Signed and Submitted by,

Kira O'Bradovich

Secretary

Chicago Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois





Denise Avant, ESQ

1st Vice President

National Federation of the Blind of Illinois

For more information about NFBI,

Go to www.nfbofillinois.org



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