[IL-Talk] Chicago Chapter Minutes, June 14, 2025

Mon Aug 4 23:31:30 UTC 2025

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER

June 14, 2025

CALL TO ORDER

Chicago Chapter President Denise Avant called the meeting to order at 1 PM.
The meeting was held over Zoom because of heavy congestion downtown due to
large political demonstrations. 

Marilyn Green served as Zoom host, and Steve Cook from South Carolina served
as co-host. Persons in attendance were Jemal Powell, Alicia Green,
first-timer Tonisia, Linda Hendle, Debbie Pittman, Dan Tevelde, Darlene
Huston, Rachel Ng, Greg Rosenberg, Eduardo Ocampo, Eileen Truschke, Ken
Schad, Jean Johnson, Bob Widman, Ed Birmingham, Maryann Lustgraff, Jackie
Cook, Crystal Smith, Kira O'Bradovitch, Marco Giannotti, Mary Grunwald,
Michelle Ault, Steve Hastalis, Nicole, Pam Gillmore, Paul Shepherdson,
Phyllis, Bruce Paul, Howard Wilson, Glenn Moore, Pam Provost, and Melissa
Fuller. Melissa announced that she has been accepted into the Master's in
Business program at Johns Hopkins University. Several people wished Marilyn
a belated happy birthday.

PROGRAM

Jemal Powell presented a program of travel tips for the city of Chicago and
its suburbs. He began by stating that there are eleven different ways he can
get from his home in University Park to downtown Chicago via public transit.
He does his homework before taking any trip to a new location. He uses the
RTA Travel Information Center, which covers Metra, CTA, and PACE. It can be
accessed from any Chicago area code, followed by 836-7000. It's available
Monday through Friday from 6 AM to 8 PM and Saturdays 8 AM to 5 PM. You tell
the agent where you are and where you're going, and they will give you
detailed information. Also there is a route finder on ctachicago.com, and
the site is pretty accessible. 

The city of Chicago has eight different El lines, and seven of them reach
downtown. The Red Line subway runs from Howard to 95th Street. The Blue Line
follows the Kennedy and Eisenhower Expressways from O'Hare Airport to Forest
Park. Five lines that touch downtown follow the Loop elevated structure. The
Brown Line goes from Ravenswood (Lawrence and Kimball) to downtown by way of
the Wells Street, Van Buren, Wabash and Lake Street El tracks. The Orange
Line goes from Midway to downtown, traveling across the southwest side,
connecting with the downtown elevated structure at Roosevelt Road. The Green
Line goes from Oak Park in the west, elevated, up to Lake Street. Downtown
it goes to Wabash, elevated. On the South Side one branch goes to 63rd and
Cottage Grove, and the other branch goes to 63rd and Ashland. 

The Pink Line starts at 54th and Cermak and Cicero. It routes over the
Eisenhower to the elevated structure at Lake Street, up the Wabash
structure, the Van Buren structure, and the Wells structure and back toward
Cicero. 

During rush hours the Purple Line goes from Evanston along the North Side El
structure, across Wells, to the Merchandise Mart. It curves around to the
Lake Street structure and the Wabash structure, then back around to Wells.
It only goes downtown during rush hour. The Yellow Line goes to the Howard
Street structure on the North Side. 

When you're at a particular train station waiting for an El, there will be
an announcement for whichever train is arriving. For instance, if you're at
Wabash and Washington and you want to catch a Green Line train, the doors
will open and you'll hear, "Green Line, 63rd and Cottage Grove," or "Orange
Line to Midway." If you're in the subway facing north on the State Street
side, they'll announce, "Red Line train to Howard." The concept is the same
on the Blue Line. If you're on the right side of the platform, facing north,
they'll announce your train as "Blue Line train to O'Hare." If you're on the
left side of the platform facing south, the announcement will say, "Blue
Line train to Forest Park." 

There are a number of bus routes downtown. When a bus comes, the door will
open and they'll announce the route. 

Jemal said that if he's not sure of the location of a particular building,
sometimes he resorts to feeling door handles. He knows one building where
the door handles have wood on them, and that way he knows the address. He
knows of another handle that feels similar, but it's at the end of the
block. If he isn't sure, he just asks someone, "What address is this?" He
doesn't mind asking people on the street. Some people are very helpful, and
some act like they can't read an address. 

In Chicago on an east-west street, the even numbered addresses are on the
north side. The odd numbers are on the south side. For example, 70 West
Madison is on the north side, and 69 West Madison is on the south side of
the street. On a north-south street such as State Street, the even numbers
are on the west side and the odd numbers are on the east side. 70 North
State, where Blind Service Chicago is located, is on the west side of the
street.

The same grid system is used in most of the Chicago suburbs. The even
numbers are on the north side of the street and the odd numbers are on the
south side. Again, on the north-south streets the even numbers are on the
west side and the odd numbers are on the east side. There are some
exceptions to this rule, but for the most part in Cook County the grids are
pretty similar. 

Steve pointed out that some major suburbs have their own completely
different street grids. This is the case with Oak Park, which starts at
Austin Avenue, and Evanston, which starts at Howard Street. 

Jemal went on to explain that you can reach many Chicago suburbs via
commuter trains in the Metra Commuter Rail District. If you're going to the
south suburbs you can take the Metra Electric from van Buren and Michigan,
with its entrance on Jackson just east of Michigan; or you can take it from
Eleventh Street east of Michigan. That train goes to University Park with
stops in Riverdale, Homewood, Harvey, Olympia Fields, Flossmoor, Hazelcrest,
and Richton Park. There's also a branch to Blue Island that cuts through the
south side of the city and stops in the West Pullman area, with stops at
Racine and 124th. There's also a branch that goes to South Chicago, with
stops at Stony Island and Jeffrey. A train goes from South Chicago out to
Joliet. It has a Beverly branch with stops at 87th, 93rd, and 95th, all the
way to 119th. The branches meet at Blue Island and go to the southwest
suburbs such as Robbins, Midlothian, Oak Forest, Tinley Park, and Mokiena,
ending in Joliet. 

>From Union Station trains mainly go to the DuPage County suburbs:
Naperville, Lisle, Downers Grove, Westmont, Hinsdale, and Vernon Hills. They
cut through LaGrange, Brookfield, Berwyn, Riverside, and Cicero, and end in
Aurora.

The southwest service used to be the old Norfolk Southern. It runs mainly
during the week. It cuts through southwest suburbs such as Worth, Oak Lawn,
Palos Hills, and Orland Park, and ends in the town of Manhattan in Will
County. 

A line called the Heritage Corridor runs through Lockport, Romeoville, and
Summit. 

On the North Side from Union Station is the Milwaukee District West, which
cuts through parts of the Northwest Side of the city around the Cicero and
Galewood areas. It cuts through Elmwood Park, River Grove, Franklin Park,
Bensonville, Itasca, Medina, Schaumburg, and ends in Elgin. 

The North Milwaukee District cuts through parts of the North Side as well.
It cuts through Mayfair, Forest Glen, Morton Grove, Glenview, and
Northbrook, and ends up going through Fox Lake. It goes into Lake County
with stops in Grayslake. 

The North Central Service only runs during the week. It cuts through the
same Northwest Side territory as the Milwaukee West, but it turns at River
Grove and stops in Rosemont, Desplaines, Prospect Heights, Buffalo Grove,
and Wheeling, to end up in Antioch. 

At Ogilvy Transportation Center at 550 West Madison you can get the Union
Pacific North and West. The North Side Union Pacific runs through the North
Side of Chicago witha stop in the Ravenswood neighborhood at Lawrence. It
stops also at Peterson in Rogers Park and cuts through  Evanston, Wilmette,
Winnetka, Glencoe, and Highland Park. Most trains end up in Waukegan, but a
couple of trains go on to Kenosha. 

The Union Pacific West Line goes from downtown Chicago, cuts through west
suburbs such as Oak Park, Maywood, Bellwood, Berkeley, Elmhurst, Wheaton,
Winfield, and West Chicago. It goes into Cane County with stops in Geneva
and Elburn. 

The Northwest Line of the Union Pacific goes from downtown Chicago and  cuts
across the Northwest Side through Jefferson Park, Norwood Park, and to the
northwest suburbs such as Park Ridge, Des Plaines, Arlington Heights, Mount
Prospect, Palatine, and Crystal Lake. It winds up in Barrington.

Basically you can travel by train from Chicago to any part of Cook County
and beyond, into the collar counties. 

Denise explained that Chicago is based on a grid. The center of the grid is
downtown at the intersection of State and Madison. That is the point zero
zero. Most of the streets as you go south are numbered. As you go north and
west the streets are named. The east side of the city begins on the South
Side. Further north there isn't much of an East side because of the lake. 

Denise said she asked Jemal to share this information because we have many
new members who are learning to travel independently in the city. Most of us
who have lived in the city for a while have learned this information little
by little. The key is to know where you're going and to plan before you go. 

Denise emphasized that even if you ride Paratransit or use rideshare, it is
a good idea to know where you're going. Sometimes you will get new drivers
who don't know their way around. Sometimes their GPS doesn't work well
downtown. If you know where you're going, you can give directions to the
driver. Steve Hastalis said that he and Jemal are happy to help anyone who
needs directions and travel tips. 

JUNE PRESIDENTIAL RELEASE

Steve Cook played Presidential Release 550. NFB President Mark Riccobono
wished happy Pride Month to Federationists across the country. We are
heading toward the NFB National Convention. Online registration is closed,
but people are welcome to register in person. If you can't make it to New
Orleans you can register to attend convention virtually. All the information
you need is available at nfb.org/convention.

President Riccobono urged everyone to keep up the good work on our
legislative initiatives. The Access Technology Affordability Act was
introduced into the Senate as S. 1918 by Sen. John Bozeman of Arkansas. Our
lead cosponsor is Ben Ray LaJeune from New Mexico, which gives the bill
bipartisan support. In the House the bill is HR 1529. We must continue to
garner support for these bills with our representatives in Congress. Remind
members of Congress that this bill is projected to save the federal
government $315 million over a five-year period. 

The Software Applications Accessibility Act was introduced in the House on
May 14, sponsored by  Rep. Pete Sessions from Texas. The cosponsor is Rep.
Steny Hoyer from Maryland. The bill is HR 3417. We expect the Senate version
to be introduced soon. 

NFB has put together an important partnership with a company called
Inosearch AI. NFB members will receive special benefits to help build our
community. Inosearch AI is an exciting new platform for using artificial
intelligence to access thousands of online retail sites and give users
curated information about products. This approach does not at all diminish
our expectation that all e-commerce platforms will be accessible to blind
people. Inosearch allows us to cut through the flashy images and get
straight to information about a product. It allows us to search thousands of
online retailers and ask questions. NFB members will get a promotional
credit of $10 when we  set up an Inosearch account. Go to your NFB member
profile at nfb.org for a special code to get your credit.  

Inosearch also offers a telephone-based system. Dial 855-shopgpt, or
746-7478. Using voice interaction on the phone you can get all the
information that is available on the web. Inosearch has a round-up feature
that can help raise funds for the NFB. For more information contact Jonathan
Mosen at jmosen at nfb.org. 

You now can place orders online from our Independence Market. Go to
catalog at nfb.org <mailto:catalog at nfb.org>  to shop. With suggestions write to
Sean Seward, manager of the Independence Market, at sseward at nfb.org. 

President Riccobono spoke of  several losses in our Federation  family.
Among them was Treva Oliveiro, a dedicated teacher of blind students and
supporter of NFB programs for blind children, who passed away at age
forty-seven. 

LEGISLATION

Denise reminded everyone to reach out to our representatives and ask them to
cosponsor our bills. Information will be posted on IL-Talk. Our
Congressional delegation has been very responsive to us. 

STATE REPORT

NFBI President Marilyn Green announced that we will hold a state board
meeting on Tuesday, June 17 at 7 pm. This is an excellent opportunity for
new people to learn what the NFB of Illinois has done, is doing, and plans
to do in the future. All are welcome to attend. 

National Convention: National Convention will take place July 8-13 at the
New Orleans Marriott Hotel. The Sheraton Hotel across the street is the
overflow hotel. Rookie Roundup is a great introduction for first-timers. You
can sign up at the PAC table to help support our movement. If you're joining
on Zoom, enjoy as much of the convention as you can.

Our BELLR Academies are coming up soon. This is an opportunity for children
ages four to twelve to build skills and community. Illinois will host two
BELL programs, one in Chicago July 21 to August 1, taking place at the
Chicago Lighthouse. If you would like to be a volunteer, reach out to Debbie
Stein or Abbu Elfaki. Our Springfield program will run August 4-have. It is
a residential program, so the families can be there with the children.
Marilyn  thanked Kira for sending out information about these programs on a
regular basis.

STEM 2 U and NFBI Board Meeting: This is the first year Illinois will host
NFB STEM 2 U, a one-day program focusing on science and technology. It will
take place on Saturday, August 23, at the Chicago Marriott Naperville, from
9 AM to 4. The next day, on August 24, we will have a face-to-face board
meeting. Call 630-505-4900 for room reservations. If you can't attend the
board meeting in person you can join on Zoom. 

State Convention: We will hold our state convention on Friday, October 17 to
Sunday, October 19. It also will be held at the Chicago Marriott Naperville.
It will begin at 4 on Friday, and it will run through Saturday to the
banquet. On Sunday morning we will have a discussion about our philosophy.
If you have ideas for presentations or exhibitors, contact Marilyn at
president at nfbofillinois.org. 

State Scholarships: Marilyn reported that the NFB of Illinois has selected
three state scholarship finalists: Tasabih Elfaki, also known as Abbu; Toby
Ellis; and Mia Zutter. Illinois also has two NFB National Scholarship
finalists. Kaelyn McColl just graduated from Walter Peyton High School and
will study biomedical engineering at Harvard University. Kaitlyn Head is
from Ohio and will major in music performance at University of Illinois in
Champaign-Urbana. We hope both of them will come to our state convention.

MINUTES

Kira moved and Michelle seconded approval of the May secretary's minutes.
The minutes were approved.

TREASURER's SUMMARY

Treasurer Kira O'Bradovitch said we have $4962.78 in our account. We expect
$5 in dues, which will give us $4967.78. 

Denise said that the chapter board met on May 30 and recommended
contributions to four national funds: the Kenneth Jernigan Fund, which helps
people attend national Convention; the White Cane Fund, a general fund that
supports the work of the Federation; the tenBroek Fund, which maintains our
building in Baltimore; and the SUN Fund, Shares Unlimited, which is our
rainy-day fund. The board approved donations of $250 to each of these funds.
Steve moved and Marilyn seconded approval of these contributions. The motion
passed. 

The board also voted to hold a picnic at the Lincoln Park Zoo, as we have
for the past several years, on July 26. People bring or buy their own food.
It's a great time for us to get together casually, just for fun. Jemal moved
and Jean seconded holding a picnic on July 26. Since the Disability Pride
Parade will be held on that day, Jemal accepted a friendly amendment to hold
the picnic on July 19 instead. The motion passed. 

Marilyn encouraged people to go to the Disability Pride Parade, even though
we are not officially participating. Denise suggested that in the future we
should consider taking part as part of our outreach effort. Debbie Pittman
said she will look into participation for this year. Jean and Rachel said
they will plan to go.

Blind Service Chicago Vision Expo: The NFB Chicago Chapter has had a table
at the Expo for the past few years. It cost $100 to have a table. This is a
chance for us to hand out our literature and talk about the organization.
The Expo will take place on Tuesday, October 28, from 9 to 3. Registration
for exhibitors will go live in a few weeks. The Expo will take place at City
Hall at 838 West Kinzie. Usually we have Braille users and low-vision
members as volunteers for morning and afternoon sessions. Rachel, Michelle,
Jean, Glenn, and Debbie Pittman volunteered. Jean moved and Rachel seconded
participating. The motion passed. Kira will send a check to Blind Services.

Meeting Venue: Denise noted that we have held our monthly chapter meetings
at TGIFridays since 2023, ever since construction began at Exchequer, where
we met for many years. The construction  is now complete, but the available
room at Exchequer is not big enough for our group. Fridays poses a number of
logistical problems, so we have continued looking for a good meeting place.
Wilma's Famous Barbecue at 17 North Wabash is a possibility. Melissa reached
out to the manager and made a tentative arrangement for us to meet there on
August 9. Marco and Denise plan to visit soon to check out the logistics.
Melissa said we can have a semi-private room behind the hostess stand. The
wait staff will be able to handle separate checks. The room can hold up to
forty people. They are excited to host us. 

Denise said we also are checking out other venues such as libraries. In a
library, music will not be an issue. Michelle checked out another place,
which sounds great except they require patrons to use QR codes to place food
orders. Marilyn looked into space at a library in the West Loop. The room is
not very private, with lots of people passing through. She suggested we look
into other library possibilities. Crystal suggested a South loop Library on
35th Street. Denise thanked everyone who has been working on this issue.

Fundraising: Denise said that the Fundraising Committee is planning a
bowling event in August. We will have the Read-a-Thon in October, and of
course our holiday auction in December. Fundraising will help send people to
Washington Seminar and will support our programs such as BELL and STEM 2 U. 

Advocacy: Michelle said that she and Debbie Pittman went to the CTA board
meeting and spoke with Molly  Poppe. She wants to bring a prototype sign to
our August chapter meeting. The signs will give the bus number and
direction. Debbie Pittman thanked the CTA Board for listening to us, and she
thanked Molly for working on the prototype. Molly will have it at the ADA
Advisory Committee meeting on July 14. Denise thanked everyone for being
persistent, proactive, and persuasive. 

Steve expressed concern about the durability of the signs. Vandalism may be
a problem. We hope our input will help make the signs as good as possible.
We can raise our concerns at our August meeting.

OLD BUSINESS

Denise said we did not take up a collection today, since the meeting was
held over Zoom. People are welcome to make contributions via Zell at
treasurer at nfbofillinois.org. Note that the money is for the Chicago Chapter.
Chapter dues are $5.

NEW BUSINESS

Darlene Huston paid her dues at our last chapter meeting. Marilyn moved and
Jemal seconded welcoming her to the chapter, and the motion passed. Darlene
was welcomed as a new member. Pam Provost said she won't be able to attend
National Convention because she will have knee surgery. Denise encouraged
first-time attendees at this meeting to call her at 773-991-8050 or text her
at chicago.president at nfbofillinois.org. She will be happy to talk and answer
questions. Marilyn encouraged people to stay online after the meeting
adjourns to socialize.

ADJOURNMENT

Marilyn moved and Mary seconded to adjourn the meeting. The meeting
adjourned at 3:41 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Stein, Secretary

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