[il-talk] chicago minutes june 2018

[David Meyer]

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER MINUTES

MEETING OF JUNE 9, 2018

President Steve Hastalis called the meeting to order at approximately 
1:00 P.M.  He asked for a moment of silence and prayer for several 
federationists including Eileen Truschke’s sister, Ken Staley’s brother 
and Linda Hendel’s husband, all of whom had recently passed away.

What’s Happening: Ken Borst found that he needed assistance checking 
into Illinois Masonic Hospital, as the touch screen was not accessible 
to him. Carolyn is attending her first Chicago meeting and will be 
going to Louisiana Tech University to become a certified teacher of the 
visually impaired. Gretchen Nordhausen is an NFBI scholarship finalist. 
Michael Nowicki recently graduated from the University of Illinois law 
school and is now studying for the bar exam. Pam Gillmore announced 
that June is Adopt a Cat month. Patti Chang announced that her son John 
is now married to Ribecca, who has helped at several October fests. 
Julia, her daughter just received a masters degree from the University 
of Illinois in Civil Engineering. The NFBI October fest is scheduled 
for September 8 at the home of Patti and Francisco Chang. Cost is $25 
per person and money can be paid at the August meeting. You can reserve 
by phone at 773-307-6440 or via email at pattischang at gmail.com.  There 
were 30 members present.

Program: Jemal Powell introduced the program item, how to negotiate 
with security in airports when using a cane or a guide dog.  Patti 
Chang talked about TSA rules for blind travelers using a cane or a dog. 
Cane users must surrender their canes to be x-rayed. They can carry 
their canes through the medal detection devices. If an agent says that 
is not the case, one should ask to speak to a supervisor. Dog harnesses 
will generally set off the detector. When that happens, dog users are 
patted down. One has the right to ask for a private pat down. You can 
ask TSA in advance for a support specialist, as well as complain about 
any problems you had wen going through security. If you are an Aira 
user, it is important to remember that you will lose that functionality 
when going through metal detectors, as you must give up your iPhone 
when going through. Both Patti and Gretchen Nordhausen advised that if 
you are in another country, you are generally permitted to use your 
cane so long as you give the impression you know what you are doing with it.

Presidential Reports: There was no National Presidential release. In 
the state report, Denise Avant stated the following. The National 
convention will take place July 3-8 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Hotel in 
Orlando Florida. There will be a gathering of federationists in 
Denise’s room on the evening of July 3. The cost for this event is $10 
per person. Please let Denise know by June 28 if you plan to attend 
this gathering. The Independence Market needs volunteers to demonstrate 
products at convention. Please let Patricia Maurer know if you can work 
the time she has assigned to you. If you cannot fill the assigned time, 
let her know you can work a different time she can make the appropriate 
assignment. Resolutions must be into the committee chair by June 19. We 
do not have an assigned date or place for the caucus yet. Denise will 
notify us through IL-talk once she gets the information. We were all 
encouraged to listen to the most recent “The Nations Blind” podcast, as 
it has to do with attending the National convention. Leslie Hamric is 
featured in this podcast. We have two Bell programs coming up this 
year. The first of these is in Chicago, July 9-20. It will be held at 
the Lighthouse. The second of these is July 30-August 3. This will be a 
residential program in Springfield. If you wish to volunteer for either 
program, please contact Amy Lund. Our face-to-face board meeting will 
occur on Saturday, August 25 at the Sheridan O’Hare, 6501 North Manheim 
Road in Rosemont. The meeting will begin at 9:00 A.M. If you cannot 
attend, please call 641-715-3273 and use the code 6324. Room rates for 
both the board meeting and convention are $99 per night. Call 
888-628-8127. Reservations for the board meeting must be made by August 
10. If you wish to receive assistance to attend the state convention, 
please fill out a Chappell-Dennis application and have it into Denise 
by September 1. The application can be found on the website, 
www.nfbofillinois.org. The state convention will be held jointly with 
the state convention of the Illinois Committee of Blind Vendors. Dates 
for the convention will be October 25-28. Please make your reservations 
with the hotel. Finally we were all asked to sell chargers. Denise 
pointed out that funds from this fundraiser are unrestricted, so they 
may be used for anything we undertake as an affiliate.

President Hastalis mentioned that the theme for the state convention is 
Commemorating the Past, Building our Future. Committee Reports: Ken 
Borst reported that the Bakers Square Fundraiser originally scheduled 
for June 19 at the Harlem and Addison location is postponed, because 
the original flyer presented was not accessible. It is likely that if 
we do this fundraiser, we will do the Harlem and Foster location. 
President Hastalis then lead us in the NFB pledge and the one minute message.

National Funds: The board voted to give $1,000 for national funds. 
These will be divided as follows: $250 to the JTB Fund, $250 to the 
White Cane Fund, $250 to the Sun Fund and $250 to the Jernigan Fund.

Chapter Picnic: The picnic will take place on July 28 at St. Andrews 
Greek Orthodox Church, 5649 North Sheridan Road in Chicago. Cost for 
the event will be $10 per person. Steve went on to describe the menu 
for the event. For further details, call Steve at 773-848-5307 or email 
him at steve.hastalis at gmail.com. David Meyer announced that we sold 88 
tickets for the Sox fundraiser VS Kansas City on August 18. We actually 
sold 86 tickets. President Hastalis mentioned that the October fest 
will occur on September 8, immediately following the chapter meeting. 
We will go directly to Patti’s from the meeting. The cost for this 
event is $25. Tap water is free, bottled water and soft drinks are $2 
each with alcoholic beverages at $3 each. Please make reservations with 
Patti by September 1. You may pay at the door. If you cancel after 
September 1, you will still owe for the event.

Secretary’s report: It was moved and seconded to approve minutes for 
the May meeting. The motion carried. Presently, we have $5,092.09 in 
the treasury.

New Business: David Meyer mentioned that the Horizon Weekenders will 
have a bowling outing at Timber Lanes, 1851 West Irving Park Road on 
July 21. Cost for bowling is $10 with the cost for pizza being 
additional. Also, the American Council of the Blind Metro Chicago 
Chapter will have a fundraising event at Beggars Pizza on July 25. 
Melissa Fuller announced that the next CTA ADA Advisory Committee 
meeting is scheduled for July 9 at CTA headquarters, 565 West Lake 
Street. Intake is at 1:00 P.M. with the actual meeting scheduled from 
1:30-4:00 P.M. Patti Chang mentioned that Illinois leads the country in 
cosponsors for our bills. We have 10 or 11 cosponsors both on Aim hi 
and Access Technology. It is because of Marilyn Green’s efforts that we 
have had this success. The Downs Syndrome Society has made the Time act 
their primary piece of legislation this year. Finally, Space Available 
is in both the House and Senate versions of the Defense Authorization 
Act. It looks like the Marrakesh Treaty will pass out of the senate.

The meeting adjourned at 2:57 P.M.

Respectfully Submitted,

David Meyer, Secretary