[IL-Talk] chicago chapter june minutes

[David Meyer]

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 OBradovitch, Marco 
Giannotti, Mary Grunwald, Michelle Ault, Steve Hastalis, Nicole, Pam 
Gillmore, Paul Shepherdson, Phyllis Hampton, Bruce Paul, Howard Wilson, 
Glenn Moore, Pam Provost, and Melissa Fuller. Melissa announced that 
she has been accepted into the Masters 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 8 3 6-7 0 0 0. Its 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 are 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 OHare 
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 are at a particular train station waiting for an El, there 
will be an announcement for whichever train is arriving. For instance, 
if you are at Wabash and Washington and you want to catch a Green Line 
train, the doors will open and you will hear, Green Line, 63rd and 
Cottage Grove, or Orange Line to Midway. If you are in the subway 
facing north on the State Street side, they will announce, Red Line 
train to Howard. The concept is the same on the Blue Line. If you are 
on the right side of the platform, facing north, they will announce 
your train as Blue Line train to OHare. If you are 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 will announce the route.

Jemal said that if he is 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 
its at the end of the block. If he isnt sure, he just asks someone, 
What address is this? He doesnt mind asking people on the street. Some 
people are very helpful, and some act like they cant 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. 17 North State, where Blind Service Chicago is located, is on the 
East 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 are 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 is 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 is 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 isnt 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 are 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 are going. Sometimes you will get 
new drivers who dont know their way around. Sometimes their GPS doesnt 
work well downtown. If you know where you are 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 cant 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 8 5 5-s h  o p g p 
t, or 7 4 6-7 4 7 8. 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 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 are joining on Zoom, enjoy as much of the convention 
as you can.

Our BELL® 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 4-8. 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 6 3 0-5 0 5-4 9 0 0 for 
room reservations. If you cant 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 secretarys 
minutes. The minutes were approved.

TREASURERs SUMMARY

Treasurer Kira OBradovitch 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. Its 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. Wilmas 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 wont be able 
to attend National Convention because she will have knee surgery. 
Denise encouraged first-time attendees at this meeting to call her at 7 
7 3-9 9 1-8 0 5 0 or e-mail 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