[IABS-Talk] Chicago Chapter Minutes, April 2026

Wed May 6 19:05:02 UTC 2026

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER 

April 11, 2026

Exchequer Pub and Restaurant

226 S. Wabash, Chicago

CALL TO ORDER

Due to some problems with the sound system, Chicago Chapter President Denise
Avant called the meeting to order at 1:10. Persons in attendance were
Michelle Ault, Sara Luna, first-timer Charlie Rush-Reese, Nickie Nishijima,
Bruce Paul, Elaine Gray Dixon, Ardella, Loretta Hubbert, Cloyues Miles,
Jackie Cook, Edward Ocampo, Glenn Moore, Pam Gillmore, Mary Grunwald, Ken
Schad, Eileen Truschke, Michal Nowicki, Patti Chang, Ken Borst, Dustin
Cather, Marco Gianotti, Arno, and Arno's mom. On Zoom were Gary Jones and
Darlene, Bart Hickey, Minnae Nesbit, Jemal Powell, Steve Hastalis, Pam
Provost, Dan Tevelde, Dave Meyer, Chris Millsap, Tim Dumler, and first-timer
Danielle Claxton.

PROGRAM

Denise introduced the guest speakers, Rachel Arfa, Commissioner of the
Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, and Deputy Director Christina
McLean, as well as Ms Arfa's ASL interpreter. The office has two locations:
one on the first floor of City Hall and one at 2102 W. Ogden. The office
deals with accessibility for every government building. Christina reported
that the Mayor's Office opened a career center in 2022. It serves Chicagoans
from the ages of sixteen to fifty-nine who identify as having a disability.
They have a mentorship program, and they welcome mentors with work
experience in various fields.

Currently MOPD is seeking volunteers to check the accessibility of online
resources. Patti Chang, Bruce Paul, and Debbie Pittman volunteered.

Ken Borst expressed concern about how AI deals with job applicants who have
disabilities. Ms. Arfa agreed that AI doesn't have much understanding of
disability, and they are trying to monitor it carefully.             

Denise thanked the commissioner and the deputy director for attending our
meeting and for their ongoing willingness to work with us. 

STATE REPORT

NFBI President Marilyn Green announced that the NFBI board will meet on
April 22. People can apply for financial assistance to attend national
convention through the NFB Jernigan Scholarship program. Information is in
the Braille Monitor at nfb.org/publications. National Convention will take
place July 3-8 in Austin, Texas. You can pre-register at nfb.org/convention.
If you register in person it will cost more, and you will have to wait in a
long line. 

We will hold our state convention the weekend of October 23-25 at the Hyatt
Regency near Lisle. Room rates are $129 per night. Information is available
at nfbofillinois.org. Our face-to-face board meeting will be held on Sunday,
August 16. We host our STEM 2U program August 15 at the same hotel. The Zoom
link for the board meeting will be posted on IL-Talk. 

The deadline for NFBI scholarship applications is April 15 at 11:59 pm CDT.
Applicants can use the same documents they submitted for the national
scholarship program.  

We will host two NFB BELLR Academies this summer. Springfield BELL will take
place July 13-18. Chicago BELL will run July 20-31, and it will be held at
the Chicago Lighthouse. Registration is open for both programs, so please
help spread the word!

STEM2U is a day-long program to give blind students exposure to science
experiments. It will run from 9 A.M. to 3 or 4 P.M.    

PRESIDENTIAL RELEASE

NFB President Mark Riccobono recorded the April Presidential Release, No.
559, on March 24. He reported that our main hotel is already sold out for
most nights during convention. Our overflow hotel still has plenty of room,
and downtown Austin is very walkable. 

The April 2026 issue of the Braille Monitor has some great articles. The
lead article has to do with the attack on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act. You don't have to be a lawyer to understand why Section 504 is
important in our daily lives. Dr. Jacobus tenBroek's work on legal rights
for people with disabilities is the underpinning of many aspects of
disability law. It is fundamental to Sections 501, 503, and 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act. The core of his thinking is found in his landmark 1966
article, "The Right to Live in the World." He discusses the shift from a
custodial model to an integration model of disability rights. That idea
comes from the wisdom and experience of the organized blind movement, and it
is the foundation of all the disability-rights work that has taken place
since that time.

The current attack on Section 504 puts the idea of integration into real
jeopardy. President Riccobono urged all of our chapters to discuss this
issue and to take action. If we fail, the impact could reverberate for
decades. 

"Friendship in Action" is an article telling the story of Niall McOnnahay.
President Riccobono encouraged chapters to use the article as a point of
discussion. Niall was the first blind person to work in the foreign service
overseas. He found strength and resources in the National Federation of the
Blind. This story shows why it is so important that we preserve our history.
We are stronger when we work together. Our local chapters should document
the histories of people who participate. Send stories to archive at nfb.org. 

OUTREACH

Patti Chang explained that Blind Unbound is part of the initiative to
document the blind people's movement. The physical space of the Museum of
the Blind People's Movement will be in Baltimore. We already are collecting
interviews. We are negotiating to house the Beep Baseball Hall of Fame at
the museum. Nickie Nishijima said we should show how blind people live and
thrive around the world. Debbie Pittman said we should include how we worked
to preserve the NLS program. Pam Provost said she has been thinking about
how the Federation changes blind people's lives. Patti noted that some of
the guilds in the 16th and 17th centuries were run by blind people. Jemal
suggested that we include our access to transportation. Patti said that we
must include our portrayals in the media.

SECRETARY's MINUTES

Ken Borst moved and Mary Grunwald seconded approval of the February
secretary's minutes. Dave made two corrections. The corrected minutes were
approved.

TREASURER's REPORT

Chapter Treasurer Kira O'Bradovitch delivered the First Quarter Treasurer's
Report for 2026. We had an opening balance of $4632.20. In the first quarter
we deposited $1339 and had $2074 in expenses. We had donations amounting to
$1050, including $900 from the Illinois Association of Blind Merchants
(IABM) for our room rental at Exchequer. We have $4652.20 as of today,
including $90 in donations. Glenn moved and Dustin seconded approval of the
First Quarter Treasurer's Report. The report was approved.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Advocacy: Kira reported that we have been doing some advocacy with the
boards of PACE and RTA. We attended the PACE and RTA board meetings last
month. NFB was the only advocacy organization present, asking for more than
forty rides per month on TAP. Kira met with the disability coordinator, and
they had a good talk. Kira discovered that the budget shortfall last year
was not the only reason they had to cut the number of rides per passenger.
When they established the program they hoped that more people would start
using TAP. Currently the average cost for a paratransit ride is $80. The
average for Ubers through TAP is $18. When the new TAP program was
implemented, they did not see the hoped-for increase in TAP rides. The
program went from a deficit of $40 million the first year to $65 million the
second year. We really need to advocate for more funding! 

RTA has passed a law allowing access to forty rides per month. If you are in
good standing with Paratransit, you will qualify for the additional ten
rides per month. Riders can apply for the ten additional rides on the
website or by calling Customer Service. They hope to roll this out on May 1.
If you apply in June, your rides will go into effect in August. 

Before the May 9 chapter meeting the Advocacy Committee will meet at 11 a.m.
to look at the accessible bus stop signs around downtown.   

Denise noted that some people have chosen to stick with Paratransit because
it's hard to get Uber or Lyft rides on the South and West Sides. Also some
people may avoid TAP because of surge pricing. Kira said that Tap is aware
that Paratransit continues to be the only option for some people. 

Fundraising: Dave Meyer reminded everyone that we have a comedy fundraiser
coming up. He doesn't yet know how many tickets we have sold. Tickets are
$25 online and $30 at the door. The event will take place April 23. The
Fundraising Committee set a goal of selling forty tickets. Dave will send
out streaming links to anyone who needs one. We will have a bowling
fundraiser in August.

ELECTIONS

Denise reminded everyone that she will not run again for chapter president.
She thanked all the members for their support through the years.

Dustin Cather was elected Chicago Chapter President. Other positions were
First Vice President, Denise Avant; Second Vice President, Patti Chang;
Secretary, Debbie Stein; Treasurer, Kira O'Bradovitch; and board members
Marilyn Green, Ken Borst, Michelle Ault, and Jean Johnson. All were elected
by the famous Chicago Chapter Acclamation Thing.

Due to technical difficulties, the people on Zoom were unable to hear most
of the election proceedings. Patti called and expressed her sincere
apologies. 

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at approximately 3:20 after a mini auction.

Respectfully submitted, 

Debbie Stein, Secretary 