[IABS-Talk] June Chicago Chapter Meeting Minutes

[denise avant]

Hello all,

The June minutes for the Chicago chapter are below my signature.

 

 

Denise Avant, ESQ

1st Vice President

National Federation of the Blind of Illinois

For more information about NFBI,

Go to www.nfbofillinois.org

 

Chicago Chapter June 2022 Meeting Notes 

Hybrid (At Exchequer & on Zoom) 

June 11, 2022

 

Denise brought the meeting to order at 1pm and welcomed everyone to the June
chapter meeting. She introduced herself as Denise Avant the chapter
president and made a few announcements. She thanked Marco Giannotti for
going out and finding us a new PA system and having it all set up and
running after the old one broke. This was met with much applause and cheers.
She then asked that in keeping with the organizations spirit as many members
have underlying health conditions that everyone continue to wear your mask
unless eating and drinking. This will be good practice for the first in
person national convention since the pandemic began where they will be
required in meeting spaces. For those on zoom, please be sure to mute
yourself to avoid interference if you are not speaking since we do have
competition from the wonderful L outside of the restaurant. She then began
introductions:

 

On Zoom:


David Meyer – Board member of this wonderful chapter and let him know that
Theresa is doing about as well as she has done since this past Christmas.
This was met with applause.

Alicia Con Dios Green – Good afternoon everyone, happy to be here, Denise
said we are glad to have her back

Gina Falvo – Hi everybody, from Homewood, Illinois, thank you to Dustin for
resending the link to get into the meeting 

Bart Hickey – I’m Glad to be here. I’ve still got the auto shop and am
trying to keep it running

Katrina Hansen – Hi, I’m so glad to be here

Kira O’Bradovich – Hello everyone, chapter secretary here. I have a good
piece of news to share. I  found out yesterday that I’m going to be an Aunt!

Michal Nowicki – Treasurer of the state affiliate. I’m  getting ready for a
summer full of travel

Dilip Shaw – had Good news to share, he is starting a new job this week in
his area of interest and passion which is increasing accessibility of
internet for visually impaired and blind people.  There are many
accessibility problems that need to be solved. 

 

In Person:

Robert Hansen – Things are going well with two days left and then he will be
off on his extended vacation

Ed Birmingham – Things are good in his world

Marco Giannotti 

Mary Lou Grunwald

Michelle Jackson – First timer

Eileen Truschke – Pam Gilmore sends her regards, she hurt her foot and
couldn’t be here

Debbie Stein – her Big news this month as she became a Grandma

Steve Hastalis – Chicago Chapter treasurer

Ellen Bartelt – IABS President, she will be working virtually with blind
high school students in Michigan this summer.

Marilyn Green – your fabulous state president, happy to be with you all this
month.  Unfortunately, she has a sad piece of news to deliver. 

Many of you know Nadia Sherman, she passed away this Sunday. That’s all the
information she has but if she hears more, she will let everyone know so
please send thoughts and prayers

Dustin Cather – glad to be here

Abel Broughton – senior operations member of the Lyft 

Arnaldo Lugo – operation member for the scooters in Chicago, thanks for
having us here

Charlie Miller – great news is he is being considered for a human rights
position as well as EOC in the state department, so everything is going
really well

Ken Borst – very happy to be here. I’m on the board for the third time and I
am very happy about that.  He wanted to let everyone know that this last
March 22nd he interviewed Denise Avant on Can TV about Washington Seminar
and that interview Is on YouTube on the cantvchicagoadapt on YouTube. He
also interviewed Debbie Stein on the 24th of May, so he hopes to find out
this coming week if that interview is also available. He also wanted to
share that Edwin Rodriguez passed away a few weeks ago for those who know
him, please pray for his family. His birthday is two weeks away and he will
be 69 years old

Jemal Powell- Good afternoon everybody, second vice-president Chicago
chapter, I just made it in and hopes all are well

Gary Jones

 

Denise Avant thanked Ken and Marilyn for mentioning Edwin and Nadia and
asked that we keep those families in our prayers in the coming days.

 

She then introduced the staff from Lyft who are here to discuss the scooters
since we have been concerned about safety and they actually have brought a
scooter with them so everyone should please let them know if you’d like them
to bring it over.

 

Arnaldo Lugo thanked all for the opportunity to share their new equipment
here in Chicago. Lyft launched the scooter program on May 10. They will
approximately have 950 scooters on the ground by the end of the launch
program. They will cover an area with boundaries on the north side on
Armitage, south on Pershing, west on Damen and up to the Riverwalk Trail on
the east side. Before they launched the scooters, which are important in
helping people get from point A to point B, they thought about safety as
it’s one of the main concerns. So for the first time they’ve added a docking
capability just like the bikes to make sure they are not left in the middle
of the street. This is the first time in North America that this has been
implemented. They also have a 10 miles per hour limit on speed for new
riders until the second ride to give them a chance to learn and be cautious
with their riding style. They also added two decals onto the top of the
scooter that also have braille, one side will have the phone number for
updates or concerns and the other side has the name of Divvy which is the
company that runs these scooters for Chicago. He also pointed out that
Scooters are only allowed on the bike lane or streets, they did implement a
sidewalk detection to capture information if someone does so they can
capture and correct that behavior to ensure safety. That’s the overview of
our scooters, does anyone have any questions. Jemal asked if the boundaries
outlined were for just their scooters or for all scooters in the city. He
said other companies have different boundaries, and those other companies
are Helbiz, Super Pedestrian, and Spin and they believe Spin will launch
next week. It was then asked what happens when an issue occurs with the
products and they said 311 is the number to call but there is also the
company number on the scooter, and they have a website. Denise asked if the
website has been tested for accessibility, and they said it was. She then
asked about the apps to reserve, which they said you can use Divvy or Lyft
apps and she asked if that has been tested for accessibility on IOS and
Android and they said that was correct.

Kira asked whether or not they have any feedback regarding the accessibility
since launching and what their plans are to garner more feedback, a forum
for instance, as the program continues and if they have any specific
concerns about accessibility in general or things they may consider changing
since launch. They said they did the program in 2019 in which they
formulated a lot of the feedback into the program this time around. Denise
clarified she may want to know more about continuing feedback since this is
no longer a pilot but in place. They shared that they developed a lot around
the accessibility feedback, where they came up with the docking program,
IMUs, and sidewalk tech. They have over 50 community outreach events with
the team planned over the next few months to educate and receive face to
face feedback. Also, the points of contact at Lyft read feedback directly
and are taking in consideration all given via 311 or on the website. 

Michal asked about the sidewalk tech and notification. They said they aren’t
engineers, but they use IMU that detects the vibrations on the streets vs.
sidewalks and he was a part of the testing and they are pretty confident
that their system will detect those who are riding on the sidewalk and it
does notify them when it is not being followed.

Debbie said that some of us have expressed concern about the inability for
blind people to hear the scooters when crossing the streets and shared that
we had brought this up at several meetings over the years during this
development period and asked whether or not there has been any discussion
about adding a sound component. They noted that one thing they do have on
the scooter is a bell which he then rang so the rider should be using the
bell if someone is in front of them or going to cross. Debbie shared that
would be an issue since that is something they themselves have to do. Denise
shared that since 2019 sound emissions were required in electric and other
vehicles so one of the things, we like to see hopefully from the companies
voluntarily doing it, is some kind of sound emission so we know someone is
on a scooter to cross safely. The Lyft reps said it was helpful to know
about the 2019 sound emissions and they will share it with the engineers.

Kira thanked them for their addition of the braille and large print but then
asked about whether or not they have an organized process of accessibility
feedback and if they could share that so we could help suggest solutions
they could consider. She also asked if there were specific staff members, we
should send accessibility concerns to in order to follow up with the right
people if we have any data to share with their company. The Lyft reps said
if we reached out to them, they could connect us to the accessibility arm of
the business and that they have a local policy director in Chicago who they
think Kira is connected to but that would be a good place to start to avoid
an online or phone feedback loop that no one wants to get into.

 

Jemal asked if there is any technology for the riders on the scooters
whether it be GPS or alert technology and if so, will there be plans in the
future to make that accessible so that someone with low or no vision could
use the scooters in the future. The representatives shared that the
evolution of the vehicles have taken very large steps forward as they’ve
launched. Safety and accessibility are design principles and that’s
definitely a design forefront. While they aren’t tech experts, as frequent
riders that’s definitely on top of mind. Yes, but we can talk more specifics
or what’s on the evolutionary timeline, if you reach out, they can talk to
their engineers. 

Charles asked if there was a disabling feature for those who break the rules
to help protect the safety of those who are blind. The reps shared that the
city is a bit more lax with accessibility for the public, but Lyft does
think more about ensuring safety and accessibility for all and that
conversation has been had and is continuing to be had.

 

Denise reminded everyone that they have one of the scooters here and can
bring it to each table to touch it and find the braille. Denise asked if
everyone has had the opportunity and shared the scooter is being moved
around now. It was asked what the name of the app was. They shared you can
use either the Divvy app or Lyft rideshare app itself. 

 

Denise then moved to the next agenda item which was the Presidential Release
and asked Eileen to take the basket around for donations with zoom attendees
being encouraged to send donations via Zelle at treasurer at nfbofillinois.org
<mailto:treasurer at nfbofillinois.org> . Dave then played the release. 

 

President Riccobono noted that we are on the final sprint to the national
convention, it’s been three years since they’ve been in person together and
looking forward to it as well as glad to hear more in person meetings are
happening and how important it is to get back together. He wished everyone a
Happy Pride and Happy Father’s Day. He noted that the board has determined
that they need to refocus and reset the priorities of our moment including
working on building our membership capacity and diversity inclusion among
other things and they will be creating a strategic plan with plenty of
opportunities for members to engage in giving feedback as they value it.
They are working on a feasibility study for the Museum to highlight the
triumphs of blind people and elevate the individual stories of blind people.
Everyone can start contributing to that effort by redoubling our efforts to
make sure that we are archiving the history of the organization. The board
of directors in May passed a recommendation to amend the constitution of the
NFB and it has been published in the June issue of the monitor, clarifying
the process to take disciplinary action against members, codifies the code
of conduct as a requirement within the constitution and specifies the
process of appealing a board decision. They are working to document and
investigate ride denials by individuals who are using Uber with a white cane
or with a service animal through Uber or other third-party providers or
someone else’s account to take rides they need to continue to hear
individual stories. You can contact Valerie Ying Ling at (410) 659-9314 or
legal at nfb.org <mailto:legal at nfb.org> . Since the last Presidential Release,
we have picked up 16 co-sponsors on the bills we currently have in Congress.
We are already at a total record of cosponsors on these bills and we hope to
be able to move some of these bills before the midterms in November so
please continue to reach out to advocacy team and check out the information
on the webpage to see how you can help. For every $20 you give to the NFB
Give 20 Campaign, you get entered to win an opportunity to go to the
National Convention or a cash prize so please give and encourage all you
know to do so. The Code of Conduct committee is asking to hear from
federation members feedback on the code of conduct specifically on how well
the process works for those who have participated and the provisions of the
code, the training that is provided, how clear the information is, etc. They
will offer a number of opportunities to provide feedback including at the
national convention where they will have office hours you can schedule by
emailing codefeedback at nfb.org <mailto:codefeedback at nfb.org>  or call
extension 2284. Please reach out before June 30th to make an appointment and
you can use those options to reach out to share information directly at any
time. It is too late to register online for the National Convention.   But
you can do so at the door. The virtual experience registration is free and
will remain open up to and through the convention until registration closes
but don’t wait, register now. Thanks to the NFB Blind Muslims group, as they
again will provide Zoom training drop in areas prior to the convention,
offered on June 18th from 1-4pm eastern time, the meeting ID is 86779556646.


The agenda will be available on NFB Newsline, press 5 on the main menu and
then press 5 again and follow the prompts by phone and on the Crowd Compass
app. Door prizes are being requested but all are asked to bring them to New
Orleans or send them ahead of time. All cash and gift cards should be
brought directly and given to Bennet Prouce, prize at nfb.org
<mailto:prize at nfb.org> , on the convention stage. For those that are
donating physical items you can send those items to Louisiana to Tammy Green
with the NFB of Louisiana at 4401 Kenon Ave, New Orleans, LA, 714022. There
will also be door prizes for virtual participants. He noted that for in
person participants they will need to wear masks in all sessions and public
spaces and have a negative COVID test, either PCR or Rapid Antigen including
at-home test. They can be sent in advance to testresults at nfb.org
<mailto:testresults at nfb.org>  or you can test at the convention on Monday,
July 4. 

We are trying to make sure the convention is as safe as possible. All the
details can be found at nfb.org/convention. AIRA will be providing the
support needed to help you take at home tests prior to the convention as
needed. 

He then noted losses and births among the nation including the passing of
Edwin Rodriguez in the Illinois affiliate. He also noted that many
communities have been dealing with significant trauma and encouraged
everyone to spread the spirit of love, optimism, and togetherness that we
get from the NFB to everyone around us. There will be no July release due to
the National Convention.

August 2nd at 8pm ET will be the next release. The release ended.

 

Denise brought all back together, thanking Dave for playing the Presidential
Release and she said she’d thanked the guests for coming and hoped all had
had a chance to see the scooter. If you have questions, please let Kira or
Denise know and we can forward them to Arnaldo and his partner with regards
to the scooters. She then asked for a motion to approve the May 14 chapter
minutes, Jemal moved, Ken Schad seconded, Denise asked for any additional
corrections or deletions to the minutes. Mary Lou noted Ken Schad’s last
name was misspelled. This was noted and Denise called for a vote, the
minutes passed. 

 

Steve noted we raised $194 in the collection today, prior to this meeting we
had a balance of $3,758.21 and the revenue we got today we are over $4,000
again so thanks for all contributions. Denise then said we’d hear from our
fabulous state president with the Illinois state presidential report.

 

Marilyn Green said she missed everyone last month and is glad to be here to
share news on the national convention. The next state affiliate board
meeting will be on Monday, June 20th, at 7 PM  and all are welcome to attend
to learn about affiliate and convention planning. It’s the same zoom
information as this meeting and all meetings. The next piece of information
is the national convention, the registration has closed for pre-registration
so you will be standing in the line there if you need to register in person.
It will take place on July 5-10 in New Orleans. She looks forward to being
there and to being in the heat. The state affiliate face to face board
meeting will take place August 27th at the state convention hotel in
Naperville and you can attend in person, it will be the same as the state
convention. $109 for a king bed and $119 for double beds plus applicable
taxes and fees. You can make that reservation by calling the Chicago
Marriott Naperville hotel, (630) 505-4900. The state convention will be
October 27-30th, her second state convention since becoming president so she
welcomes all emails with ideas or feedbacks, president at nfb.org
<mailto:president at nfb.org> , (312) 343-8936 to call or text (texting is
preferrable. Room reservations rates and phone number are the same as for
the board meeting. A virtual option is an agenda item at the state board
meeting on June 20th. 

Jemal said he noticed that the room rates are almost the same as the rates
going to national convention he wondered if that was a standardized Marriot
rate for conventions or specifically for NFB. Marilyn said this is the first
that this has happened so she’s not sure if it’s a new policy or what. Ed
asked about when you get your wristband for convention in relation to COVID
test upon arrival. Denise noted you can email the results so that then when
you get your wristband you can get in line to get your registration packet.
If you send your test results in in advance it will be faster as you don’t
have to wait in line to get tested. Denise also suggested you both email and
keep a copy of the photo of your results on your phone/on hand to make
checking in easy. 

Jemal asked whether or not Illinois has an affiliate historian, Marilyn said
we did, it’s Sara Luna and she was accepted to Blind Inc. and will be in
Minneapolis for the next nine months and will be at national and state
conventions. Jemal then asked if the proposed constitutional change
mentioned on the release had been put out for public dissemination yet.
Denise said it should be in the braille monitor.

 

Debbie Stein shared that the Braille Enrichment Literacy & Learning Program
(BELL) is an academy, and the Chicago Academy will happen between July
18-July 29 and the Springfield Academy will happen August 1-August 5th which
will be residential with families staying together at a hotel. She still is
in need of volunteers for both programs, from teaching braille skills,
playing games, helping out on field trips, a little bit of everything. We
need background checks on everyone for anyone who takes place as a
volunteer. A number have shown interest but need to submit background
checks. She then noted that we are delighted to have our very own Teresa
Fabre as a national scholarship winner this year. We know her as she is the
secretary for IABS and has been conducting fundraisers for IABS by teaching
virtual cooking classes so be sure to take one if you have the opportunity
as you are missing out on some great Mexican recipes. She was a professional
chef, and she brings her talents in abundance. We also have announced our
three NFB of Illinois finalists who are all new participants with two high
school seniors who are graduating, one is from downstate named Vance Herder
and one Abu (Hasibi) Alsaki and if you read the braille monitor issue
article about the mentoring program it features Abu so you can learn a lot
about her. The third recipient is Rachel Newland who came from Michigan to
study at Northern Illinois university this year and so she is a newbie to
Illinois, and we are very happy to have her. 

 

Washington Seminar

Denise asked that we call our representatives on the Transformation to
Competitive Integrated Employment act and the Medical Device Nonvisual
Accessibility Act. We did very well with the 15 cosponsors on the Access
Technology Affordability Act. So please keep reaching out to your
representatives to support the other bills. 

 

Ellen then shared that at National Convention the students will be selling
snacks from Illinois including chips from Jay’s company: spicy hot, sour
cream & onion, BBQ, and plain and they are still figuring out what they are
going to price them at but if you would like to be included in the
conversation you can come to the next IABS meeting which is tomorrow night
at 7pm with the same zoom information as today. They are also selling
world’s famous chocolate bars in six different flavors and it will be sold
for $2 a bar. Their third item from Illinois is twinkies, in three flavors,
Glenn Moore is helping them make the twinkie baggie packs and they will be
sold for $1 a piece. If you’d like to sell, her phone number is (608)
556-5277 or email embartelt at gmail.com <mailto:embartelt at gmail.com> . 

 

Denise shared that the board meeting took place this morning and the first
item raised was the Chicago Chapter picnic that will take place on the last
Saturday in July at the Lincoln Park Zoo. It was approved by the board and
she then asked for a motion from the chapter to hold this picnic. Please
keep in mind at the zoo you will need to provide your own meals, but they
may hold it at a café or restaurant where you can buy your own food. Marilyn
moved and Mary seconded. Denise called for discussion, there was none, she
then called for a vote and the motion passed. She asked Steve to work on the
logistics for the zoo since he was the one who got it together.

 

Denise then noted that because there is a National Convention in July and a
State Convention in October as we traditionally do, we have cancelled the
Chapter meetings for July and October. The board decided to continue with
this process, so she asked for a motion to approve. Jemal moved, Robert
seconded, no discussion, a vote was held, and the motion passed. 

 

She then moved on to discuss the pre-payment we made to Exchequer back in
2020 to pay ahead when we gave them $900. Our first in-person meeting was
last August we should have four events left but there is some confusion as
to whether we are paid up or behind, but she has reached out to George
regarding this. Either way, once our pre-payments have been used, George has
raised the rental price from $75 to $100 per meeting. The board believed
that downtown, with inflation and other pressures this is the best we are
going to be able to do so the board approved it. She called for a motion,
Jemal moved, Mary seconded. Denise called for discussion and Eileen asked if
they include the games night or the pizza party in that count, but Denise
said they don’t separate those out and charge, they mean meetings. There
were no further questions, Denise called for a vote and the motion passed.
We have had a long-standing relationship with Exchequer so she’s sure the
package ending is just a misunderstanding.

 

Denise then called on Dave to conduct a fundraising report. He noted that
the read-a-thon will take place in October and it will be a big one for us,
so he hopes that many contribute, read, or even both. The event will be
virtual and will be held on Saturday, October 8, the same day the chapter
meeting would be if we were to hold one that month. Dave and the committee
will be meeting most likely just after National Convention to schedule a
Beggar’s Pizza night and he’s spoken to Debbie Watson at the ACB chapter
president. They will hold theirs in November so they will make sure that
doesn’t conflict. 

 

Kira gave an update on the legislative/advocacy committee and shared that
they have been providing feedback and getting word out on the accessible
tools that were passed when the scooter companies received their contracts
with the city. They are rolling out scooters throughout the summer, we have
been in contact with Lyft quite a bit and will have a yet to be determined
date to meet with the city and the companies for official feedback so if you
have any questions, please let her or the committee know. We have also been
looking into sound standards and possibly surveying everyone in the Chapter
once the scooters have been out for a few months.

That being said she hopes to be able to hold a meeting later this month
prior to convention to discuss any new opportunities for advocacy or
legislative issues in the city of Chicago and you are more than welcome to
attend that and let us know of any issues or concerns you may have. 

 

Jemal then shared regarding the MOPD Global Technology Accessibility Event
that took place on May 19th. Many disability groups including the NFB
attended with Jemal, Ken Borst, & Denise attending to represent our
organization. Jemal was able to meet the mayor there and get a photo with
her that they will be putting on the Facebook page. They had people come by
the table including someone from one of the Chinese organizations who would
like to be involved with the NFB. Ken added that people took our literature
and spoke to us and took us seriously unlike other events they’ve attended
so he got the feeling that we didn’t waste our time. It was very productive,
and he said it was about time. Denise shared that the handouts that we
distribute are a letter from our state president, Marilyn Green, a national
resource list, an Illinois resource list, and a handout on NFB Newsline. If
she’s around she also gives out her business card for the purposes of the
Chicago Chapter. Denise noted it was a nice event and well put-on by the
MOPD. Jemal said it was very good to be attending a well-attended event. 

 

Denise then turned to old business. She noted that at the end of our chapter
meeting back in May, Charles Miller paid his dues to join our Chapter, so
she asked for a motion to vote Charles into our Chicago Chapter, Ken made
the motion, Jemal seconded, a vote was held, the motion passed, and Charles
is now a member of the Chicago Chapter. She noted he should have received a
letter and material from the National Office as well as a coin and if it
hasn’t arrived it should shortly.

 

She then asked for new business. Dilip noted that the city is working on the
audio signal project and asked if the NFB is involved. Denise said we have
spoken to the city regarding this, the ACB has sued the city and the
litigation could take years, but we continue to work with the city to find
out where and when they will be put in as they repair streets near the
various intersections. She can request a new list, she did so before and
they had them only at 19 intersections which is far behind places like NYC.
She was just in East Lansing Michigan and they had plenty of audible
pedestrian signals on the college campus. 

Dave asked if we could get an update on what is happening with the State
Bureau of Blind Services as far as new leadership. Dustin shared that there
will be a meeting with the Blind Service planning council soon to obtain
more information on any selections possibly made or updates. Ed shared that
the interview process for the Bureau chief was unproductive. It seems they
already had their minds made up. And the decision may not be good for blind
people in the state.

He said no one is happy about the decision on the council. The last couple
bureau chiefs were just figureheads, a token position in the eyes of the
state and we pay the price for that. 

 

Steve then asked if it was 2019 that we passed the detailed resolution
regarding accessible pedestrian signals. Denise confirmed and he noted that
should be on our website. Jemal noted the comment regarding accessible
pedestrian signals that at least two south suburbs have multiple pedestrian
signals and he and Steve played those for the chapter a few years ago.

 

Motion was made, seconded, vote held, and meeting was adjourned at 3pm. 

 

 

 

Signed and Submitted by, 

Kira O’Bradovich

Secretary

Chicago Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois