[IL-Talk] January Chicago Chapter Hybrid Meeting Minutes, January 14

[davant1958 at gmail.com]

Chicago Chapter Meeting Minutes 

Zoom/Exchequer Pub Hybrid

January 14th, 2023

 

 

The meeting was called to order at 1:00 PM by Chapter President, Denise
Avant. She began the January Chapter meeting by welcoming everyone and
wishing everyone a Happy New Year. She  shared how glad to see everyone at
the meeting. Games Night will follow the chapter meeting. She then made
announcements with the reminder that unless you are actively drinking or
eating to keep your mask on and to those who have not paid for games night
to please pay by Zelle at  <mailto:treasurer at nfbofillinois.org>
treasurer at nfbofillinois.org or you can pay by cash or check to Steve
Hastalis. The cost of games night is $35.

 

She then began introductions, with Mary Grunwald as the mic runner.

 

In Person Attendees:

Robert Hansen

Ken Schad

Eileen Truschke - happy to report Roberta Glickman is permanently in a
skilled nursing facility in Highland Park

Pam Gillmore

Francisco Chang – happy New Year everybody

Dustin Cather

Chris Millsap
Dan TeVelde

Glenn Moore – brought his braille playing cards

Debbie Pittman

Sara Luna – glad to be back at her first in-person  chapter meeting and has
her friend Chloe Wu from Minnesota who is being shy

Ken Borst

Gary Jones

Debbie Stein

Kyle Chellino

Marco Giannotti

Ed Birmingham

Gina Falvo

Michelle Ault

Ellen Bartelt

Nikki Nishagima 

Paul Shepardson

Denise Avant – Chicago Chapter President

Michal Nowicki

Patti Chang

Mary Grunwald

Steve Hastalis – on his way to the meeting in a Lyft

Edward Ocampo

Jemal Powell 

 

Bruce Paul

Marilyn Green

Zoom Attendees:

David Meyer 

Bob Lee – Springfield, IL

Bob Whitman

Katrina Hansen 

Bart Hickey

 

Denise also mentioned that if you have not already done so, you can pay your
dues by Zelle or to Steve wen he arrives by giving him a check or cash for
$5.

The next item was the program. Sara Luna was introduced to talk about her
Blind Inc. training experience. She recently graduated from Blind Inc. She
also attended a summer program there 3 years prior while  in college. Over
the course of nine weeks,  she learned how to turn on the stove, the
fundamentals of cooking and worked on the basic skills  and took core
classes. She went back to college, graduating in 2021. She  had the
opportunity to teach the summer after graduating  at the Colorado Center for
the Blind. She  taught braille to high schoolers. While she was there, she
noticed the things the adult students were doing in traveling, home
management, & communications. It made her realize that she still had a lot
of room to grow in all of the four classes offered.  This  began her
motivation to go back to Blind, Inc. She began her second time there on June
1, 2022 sharing that it was a wonderful experience, was there for seven
months, and although many people ask if she feels like she’s a different
person, she said she really became a Federationist during her first time at
Blind, Inc. 

This time around she said that she saw her confidence grow in so many
different avenues over time. She noted in her assistive technology class she
was already pretty familiar with the braille typewriter and the code from
her prior time there so she set out to read an entire book in braille, that
was 630 pages and that she is still working on. She hopes to be done by this
coming June. To improve her slating speed, she selected a project to slate
all the lyrics to every song in what she believes is the best album of all
time, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles. Somehow, she
shared, she still loves it despite having to slate “Good Morning, Good
Morning” ten times in a row. She found that her slating speed was improving,
beginning the project in July and completing it at the end of October. In
addition, she said she wanted to focus on Windows and JAWS as she is a Mac
person, she didn’t know what the mythical “alt” key was or what it did but
now she does. She shared that she has determined that she doesn’t hate JAWS
as much as she thought she would and that it does have some redeeming
qualities but is still a Mac person at heart. She said that her experience
with cane travel was helpful to taht part of the training, having lived in
Chicago certainly gave her an advantage with transit and walking but under
sleep shades it was an adjustment and it made her pay attention to the
little things, such as sidewalk curves and ensuring she is lined up at the
curb. In the Twin Cities, she also had to learn a new address system, bus
routes, and train system since they have a light rail. She noted it wasn’t
as extensive as the public transportation system in Chicago. For that class
in particular, the main assignments were “drops” where they take you in a
car and drop you off in a random location in the twin cities or even the
suburbs and you have to get yourself back to Blind, Inc. She joked that the
drivers enjoy ensuring you don’t know where you are even if you try to track
as she did by making many turns and she said she was very nervous during the
car rides but that she felt she had the skills needed, relying on her
knowledge of the address system, navigation, and skills in problem solving
to find success. She also noted Minnesota has hills, which she was unaware
of, and recalled a day when it was under 40 degrees and she was lost in a
neighborhood with the steepest hills she had ever experienced. It was an
exhausting two hours, she said, but she made it back. The last trip was what
she described as a monster route, where she was asked to propose three
different locations across the two cities and suburbs. She had to plan her
route, which she did, and went from a brewer to an antique shop ending at a
Mexican bakery. She found the experience very empowering. In addition, Sara
shared she took a class in industrial arts, which was one of her favorite
classes the first time she attended. In this class, she shared, they teach
you the proper way to hammer a nail, how to measure non-visually, and how to
use table saws and other power tools. After coming back to this class, she
also learned about home maintenance, learning how to disassemble and
reassemble a door knob, take apart a toilet and sink and put them back
together, etc. and learned how things work. She really appreciated this
different kind of mental challenge. She then spoke about the job and careers
class that she took, where they focused on a variety of subjects related to
employment, how to search for jobs, edit resume and cover letter, preparing
for job interviews, and learning what the onboarding process looks like,
which all helped a great deal in building her confidence and helping her to
feel prepared to use her skills to secure a job. She noted that overall, the
class she felt helped her to grow the most was home maintenance. 

 

The first time she went to Blind Inc, she didn’t know how to turn on the
stove, this time around she noted she had the basics down but really grew to
enjoy cooking and baking, challenging herself to make things that even her
sisters and mother haven’t attempted. She made dumplings, apple fritters,
popcorn chicken, and a variety of other foods. Her final project was to feed
40 people from start to finish with a budget of $200. For her meal she
prepared an appetizer of Elote, Mexican street corn, her entrée was Birria,
and for vegetarians she made a tortilla soup, served everything with
cilantro, onions, & tortillas, and for dessert she made butter cookies with
Kool-Aid to drink. She shared it was a wonderful day as her family and
friends were able to come and that this was particularly meaningful since
her family had prepared so many wonderful dishes for her over the years, she
was excited to return the favor for the first time and cook something for
them. She then said that whenever a student accomplishes a big goal, they
ring a bell that sits in the lobby in order to let everyone know and to
gather everyone to celebrate together. She shared that when you graduate you
receive your own freedom bell with your name, graduation date, and Blind
Inc. inscribed, to continue to ring when you accomplish big goals and she
brought it today in case anyone would like to see it. She concluded by
saying that her time at Blind, Inc. was transformative as she saw her
confidence in her skills grow throughout the months, from using JAWS,
understanding the braille code, learning to use the address system to travel
independently, gaining confidence in finding a job, and feeling confident in
cooking. She would highly recommend the training at Braille, Inc. or at any
of our job training centers, she shared that she had a great time. 

Denise thanked Sara and welcomed questions. 

 

Debbie P. asked two questions, the first, regarding her mobility training
and whether or not she was able to bring and/or use her phone. She also
asked if Sara is prepared to put “light plumbing” on her resume. Sara shared
that she doesn’t plan on putting that on her resume right now, she’s keeping
the skill in her back pocket for when she gets a condo. She then noted that
while they are allowed to keep their phones on them for emergency purposes,
they are not allowed to use them except for the compass. 

Jemal then asked if someone decided to use Siri when they weren’t supposed
to what would happen. Sara shared that during lessons they were often given
an address and would talk through how they were going to get to that address
and half the time they would accompany them and half of the time they did
not. It’s on the honor system in the end, because the only person you are
only cheating yourself. Denise thanked Sara and everyone applauded. 

 

Dave then played the Presidential Release. On the release, President
Riccobono welcomed everyone to 2023, wishing everyone a Happy New Year and a
Happy World Braille Day. He shared that the NFB has now established a
domain, braille.day to use for this day so be sure to check it out as they
will use it to promote braille literacy year-round. He then noted that in
2022, the NFB far exceeded their end of year donation goal thanks to a
matching donation from Vispero. He also noted they have launched the Jacob
Bolotin Award, named after the first physician who was blind from birth and
inspired many. The NFB is also seeking nominations for additional awards and
scholarships that can be found in the braille monitor and on the website.
President Riccobono then shared that applications are now open for the 2023
BELL Program. BELL is for children ages 4-12 who could benefit from braille
instruction which will be offered in person by affiliates and in home
through national, July 24-August 7 and more information can be found at
nfb.org/bell. 

 

He then shared that Washington Seminar is coming up and encouraged all of
those involved to read the fact sheets on the website to help with advocacy
efforts. He shared that congress has relaxed the rules for in person
meetings and an escort is no longer needed. President Riccobono then shared
the good news that at the end of 2022, President Biden signed an omnibus
bill that included an extension to the Able Bill, the Able Age Adjustment
Act. The act increases the eligibility to establishing an Able account to 46
years of age and therefore those who became disabled prior to that age can
now establish an Able account. He also reminded everyone of the upcoming
National Convention that will take place in Houston, TX from July 1-6 and
hotel reservations at the Hilton Americas and the connected Marriott are
open. He invited everyone to share their ideas for the convention agenda.
Closing out the meeting, President Riccobono remembered federation Scott
LaBarre who passed away on December 10, 2022, and the impact he made across
the federation and around the world for disability rights.  

 

The release ended and Denise made special note of Scott LaBarre’s passing
and asked for a moment of silence and remembrance of Scott. (A moment was
taken to honor his memory.) She then asked Marilyn to give the state report.


Marilyn welcomed her team to give updates as she was n-route to Exchequer.
Denise spoke on Washington Seminar, sharing that there are four from this
chapter, herself, Dustin Cather, Michelle Alt, and Steve Hastalis in
addition to the other participants, Tasabih Elfaki and Teresa Fabre. Majesty
Sylvain will also be joining on certain appointments as a student of Blind
Inc. Dustin then spoke on the issues of focus for Washington Seminar. He
shared that they are excited to have a great team and that they have their
first training tomorrow night. There are three pieces of legislation that
they are focused on this year and none have been introduced on the floor
yet. Once a new session begins, bills formerly introduced must be
reintroduced but we are fortunate to have support to do so. The three bills
are the Website and Software Accessibility Act that will provide a
rule-making initiative to ensure websites are accessible and provide
guidelines to all website holders, the Medical Device Non-Visual
Accessibility Act that will provide guidelines for manufacturers of home use
medical devices to make them accessible to ensure a healthy independent
lifestyle, and the Blind Americans Return to Work Act, that will eliminate
the earnings caps on SSDI, to allow blind Americans to return to work.
Dustin shared that they hope to get many cosponsors on board for this
session at Washington Seminar. For more details the fact sheets can be found
on the NFB website. 

 

Debbie Stein then shared updates on the BELL program as she is the
coordinator for the Illinois BELL academy this summer, which helps to
develop braille literacy for ages 4-12. Illinois has hosted BELL academy
since 2013 and Amy Lund was always the head teacher but this year two
teachers are needed as she is unable to serve in this role. She is also
recruiting volunteers who will require a background check, which the NFB
will help pay for, and schedules are flexible. They will have three
programs, a two-week day program at the Chicago Lighthouse, a week-long
residential program for children and their families in Springfield, and an
in-home program that includes a mailed box of materials with all meetings
held virtually five days a week. Dates are forthcoming but please consider
volunteering and advertising this opportunity to potential participants.
Debbie then turned to the NFBI state scholarship program. Students must be
either a resident of Illinois studying outside of Illinois or a student
studying in Illinois in a degree granting post-secondary program, i.e.,
Associates, bachelors, etc. They also have an exception for those working
part time and studying part time and will be offering at least two $5,000
scholarship this year. The application is live online and the deadline has
moved to a later date to allow for more time to submit, from March 31st in
the past, to now a deadline of May 31st this year and students will be
notified by August 15. An application form, letter of recommendation,
transcript, proof of blindness, and a personal essay are required. Patti
then shared information on the National Scholarship program for this year
which will include  $8,000 in scholarships, the largest scholarship program
for blind students in the nation. They are due by midnight Eastern time on
the 31st of March and the webpage to find the application and more
information is nfb.org/scholarships. Like the state scholarship, it also
requires you to attend the National Convention, but there will be financial
assistance to do so. Patti asked everyone to spread the word as they need
help in ensuring all those who qualify know to apply. Jemal asked why the
state scholarship is now different from national, Patti said that they
wanted to better cultivate the students since the State Convention isn’t
until October, they lose momentum. He then asked what percentage of people
in this affiliate were either state or scholarship winners. Patti shared she
thought it was close to half in this room and that they were looking for
leaders, they make no secret that this is a recruitment tool. 

 

Marilyn then finished the report, wishing everyone a Happy New Year and
adding that there will be a board meeting next month on February 20th at 7pm
so be on the look-out for information on the board meeting. Dave noted that
the fact sheets for Washington Seminar are also available on Newsline.
Denise then invited Glenn Moore to discuss the IABS Fundraiser. Glenn shared
that they are continuing to hold cooking class fundraisers and will hold the
next on February 11th and if you are interested you can email Natalio Abar
at  <mailto:abarnata05 at gmail.com> abarnata05 at gmail.com. Teresa Fabre is
hosting the class; registration is $35, and you can pay via Zelle or let
Natalio know via email. Denise noted that is the same day as the February
chapter meeting and Glenn shared the class will take place at 7pm and will
teach you how to make a chicken soup and queso fundido. 

 

Sara shared that once again the Illinois Affiliate is hosting the Midwest
Regional student seminar, March 24-26 at the Holiday Inn Chicago O’Hare.
Registration is $100 and is due on March 1, room rates are $99 a night, and
the theme is “Deeper than the Surface”, going beyond the traditional
conversations of applying and disclosure to preparing for life in the
professional sphere. The information will be distributed on a weekly basis
on IABS Talk and IL-Talk. She hopes to see many of us there and welcomes any
questions. 

 

Denise then moved to Chicago Chapter items, calling for approval of the
December 10 Secretary Minutes, Ken Borst made a motion, Jemal Powell
seconded, Denise called for any changes, there were none, a vote was taken,
minutes passed. She noted a spelling error correction was made. Steve then
gave the fourth quarter treasurer’s report. Treasurer’s report for the
Fourth Quarter of 2022, October, November, December: beginning balance,
October 1, $3,953.69, dues $5 annually, $160, Beggar’s Pizza, $170.76,
Beggar’s Pizza additional donations $110, quarterly donation, $150,
Read-a-Thon contributions, $1,175, monthly collection, Saturday, November
12, 2022, $200, Games Night, Saturday January 14, 2023, $70, Christmas
Auction, Saturday December 10, 2022, no monthly collection, $2,255, total
income $3,977.76. Expenses: electronic withdrawal for PACT, $50 monthly, 3
months, subtotal $150, Exchequer for 2023, 9 meetings at $100 each, note
excluding March for Midwest Student Seminar, July for National Convention,
and October for State Convention, $900, 2023 Washington Seminar, $1,600 to
defray airfares and other travel expenses, $400 each to four Chicago Chapter
Federationists participating, $1,600, for a total of $2,650 in expenses.
Ending Balance, Saturday, December 31, 2022, $5,131.45, note Fifth Third
reports a balance of $5,281.45 including credit of $200 and a debit of $50,
both occurred in January, totaling $150. Denise thanked Steve for the
report, called for a motion, Jemal Powell moved, Debbie Pittman seconded,
Denise called for any changes, Debbie Pittman clarified the total for the
Beggar’s pizza fundraiser, Dave shared that the percentage was 20% or all
proceeds, excluding tax and tip and clarified that $107.76 was the total.
Denise noted that this year there were not as many people participating and
their location is not as busy. A vote was taken and the report was approved.

 

Since Kira was unable to be at the meeting, Denise then gave a brief update
on advocacy at the chapter level. She shared that they’ve been working to
improve accessible vote by mail and in person accessibility and staff
etiquette. They have improved upon the vote by mail option, with Michal and
Patti continuing to test for the city as they have been granted additional
funding for the future to update the website. The additional asks made were
to test the voting machines used for both audio and low vision feature
before placing them in the voting spaces and if one or two of our members
could be present at training classes for poll workers to educate staff on
blindness. They are still awaiting word back from Max but hope that those
from the chapter will be able to volunteer to help since she and Kira have
advocated to ensure that we can vote privately and independently when going
to polls. She also noted that there is an ordinance on the ballot where
there will be a community police force, with three members per police
district and you will need to research the candidates as you will be asked
to cast a vote to name three people. The idea is that these individuals will
act as go-betweens between the police and the community to improve
interactions. 

Patti shared that we have a new tool thanks to the Illinois Bar Association,
which is now accessible and you can research the judges at ISBA.org website
and search “judicial”. She recommends that we use this since we have long
advocated for accessibility in this. She said there were other things going
on with the committee but she will leave that to Kira to share at the next
meeting. Debbie P. asked if there was a list of those running to be able to
see who is running and how to communicate with them. Denise suggested
getting a sample ballot or going to the Chicago Board of Elections website
to get more information there. 

 

Denise then invited Dave to talk about Games Night. He went through the list
of people who are in regardless of whether or not they have paid but that it
might not be up to date if payments were made during the meeting.

 

Mary Grunwald – Paid

Marco Giannotti – Paid   

Debbie Stein – Due

Denise Avant – Paid

Michal Nowicki - Paid

Eileen Truschke – Paid, donation may be due

Ken Schad – Paid

Kyle Chellino – Paid

Marilyn Green – Paid

Dave & Teresa – Donated, will not be there

Patti & Francisco – Paid

Pam Gillmore - Due

Paul Shepardson – Paid

Jemal Powell – Due

Dan TeVelde – Paid

Chris Millsap - Paid

Glenn Moore - Paid

Ed Birmingham – Due

Steve Hastalis – Due

Debbie Pittman – Paid

Michelle Alt – Due

Ellen Bartelt – Paid

Bill Reif – Donation due

Dustin Cather – Donation

Nikki Nishagima – Paid

 

Dave asked that following the event he be emailed a list of those who had
paid and attended. Denise then asked all who have yet to pay to pay via
Zelle at  <mailto:treasurer at nfbofillinois.org> treasurer at nfbofillinois.org
or see Steve before Games Night takes place, the cost is $35. She then moved
on and called for any old business. Patti shared she was here with her
computer so if anyone has changed contact information she can get into the
database and make that fix otherwise you can always call or email her but
please keep your information up to date. She then asked if we had a budget
made yet, and Denise said they had not yet so Patti volunteered and Denise
said it should be the existing treasurer and perhaps Kira since she’s
expressed interest. Denise then asked if there were any new member since the
December 10 meeting that need to be onboarded and Marilyn confirmed there
were none present. Denise then called for any new business. Debbie Pittman
shared that the At-Large Chapter will do their popcorn fundraiser in early
March so look out for information on that and they are interested in having
a Washington seminar participant present at their upcoming meeting and asked
anyone interested to contact her at (312) 218-7528. Jemal asked about the
Chapter budget and wondered if we needed a motion on that but Denise
clarified that would take place once a budget was created. Kyle then asked
about updating addresses and he asked if he needed to update his, Patti
offered to check after the meeting. Steve shared that the next Metra ADA
Advisory Committee will take place Tuesday, Feb 7th, at Metra Headquarters
on 547 W Jackson, right around the corner from Beggar’s Pizza on the south
side of Jackson, west of Clinton, from 2pm-4pm and they will discuss
accessible rail cars and stations. If you have any questions, you can
contact Steve at (773) 848-5307 and he noted that Jemal has served on the
committee as well and continues to attend most of their meetings.

 

Denise then asked Sara if they have had any CTA Advisory Committee meetings
that she has been able to attend and if she has any announcements. Sara
shared she has attended at least one meeting but did not have any updates at
the moment. Denise suggested she speak with Kira as they are working on
advocacy issues related to the signage updates and train announcements.
Debbie P. also shared that they are collecting feedback from Paratransit
riders regarding their experience and you can call her at (312) 218-7528 or
email her at  <mailto:debbiepittman99 at gmail.com> debbiepittman99 at gmail.com.
Mary shared that she is getting very close to getting an iPhone and will
keep us updated. Denise said that was exciting news. 

 

Denise then shared that the pizza will be served at 4:45pm and they are
scheduled to go from 4pm to 7pm but as far as she knows no one else will be
here after so if it goes over that should be ok. You are welcome to start
setting up the games if you would like to in the meantime. Dave ordered an
assortment of pizzas including at least one cheese pizza. Salad and soft
drinks are also included in the price but alcoholic beverages will need to
be purchased on your own. Steve shared that there are several decks of
cards, Debbie S. brought Scrabble and Sorry, Debbie P. brought dominoes, Dan
& Chris brought UNO, Glenn brought a deck of braille cards. 

 

Denise then asked if there was anything further, nothing was noted, a vote
was called and the meeting adjourned. She then ended the meetings, saying
“let the games begin!”

 

 

 

Signed and Submitted by, 

Kira O’Bradovich

Secretary

Chicago Chapter of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois







 

 

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