[IL-Talk] {Spam?} Chicago Chapter Draft February 2022 Minutes

[denise avant]

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's on an ABA
Meeting. She is the chair of the disability rights commission, so she is
conducting other federation business. Favorite winter restaurant is Gino's
out by where they live, near O'Hare and she is staying.

She asked Dustin to call down the names so people don't 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, it's 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's a restaurant
close by called Blueberry Hill where she does pick up or Orelio's 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 Lincoln's birthday to everybody, favorite
winter restaurant is Burgundy, around Austin and Irving Park. It's a pancake
house that she and Ken go to every Saturday after bowling and it's 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's 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, Salerno's. 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's
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 O'Bradovich - 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 Sather's, they're 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 it's affordable that's why he loves it. He is not
staying.

Ken Borst - Favorite restaurant of all time is Stella's 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've taken the vaccines and the booster, so he'd have an annoying
cold for a few weeks and management had him quarantine so that's what he
did. He is planning on staying. His favorite restaurant is Exchequer, this
one.

Debbie Stein - She agreed with Patti and voted for Gino's Pizza on
Westchester road; they have the best chili on a cold day, it's 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's 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's 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, Regina's 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 it's a tie between our
wonderful Exchequer and Remington's. Her fuzzy is that this week she got to
participate in Washington Seminar virtual style and it's 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 Pizanno's, 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 Connie's 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 didn't 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 doesn't know what his favorite restaurant is
so wherever he's in at the time so as Patti pointed out it's Exchequer. He
said his favorite part about winter is when it's spring, he lives in
Minnesota where it's 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. It's nice to
hear new and old voices, and her favorite restaurant is Ajama's Kitchen
which is Korean fusion but in Chinatown but it's 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 doesn't think we've 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. It's 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 (312) 747-4001 to schedule an appointment.
They do have a 1-800 number but it's 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 wasn't
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've 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. It's 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're 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've 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 wasn't
getting info, she'd 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've 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's happy they have the service back but
now the CPL is funding the service, autonomy exists now from the State
Library's Service. They are partners with the state but are also
independent. 

 

And 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've had 5-6 and on the slowest just one. They've been busier and that's
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's 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 couldn't get anyone to explain how to do so. He also
shared that he doesn't 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 it's 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. It's 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 weren't
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's pretty sure it was NFB as all those she's worked
with are from the NFB. 

 

Marilyn said hello and that it was nice to hear Patrice's voice again as
she's known and worked with her at CPL for many years. She's 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's 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's a big advocator but she won't advocate for a
service that will go unused. She said that while she was asking, she didn't
have any patrons there asking for it. Patti said they'd 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 it's 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 it's a part of the national library service and Chicago oversees
and troubleshoots it locally. For the rest of the state, it's 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've designed has to be propriety in order to
make sure the program continues to exist. That's 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
it's 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
(773) 685-1893. 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 s (800) 654-3990,
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 O'Hare 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've 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>  (773) 203-1394. 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 O'Bradovich, 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's 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 (312) 593-3013 and he can be reached
anytime between 6pm and midnight with suggestions. There were no further
questions. 

 

A motion was called to approve the secretary's 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
today's 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 affiliate's. Steve noted we got an additional $20
for the monthly collection, now up to $89. Patti thanked everyone and noted
that doesn't 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