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Advancing the Human & Civil Rights of People with Disabilities in Illinois

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EFE’s Recent Work

Man in a wheelchair boarding a busTransportation Discrimination Cases

Chicago Transit Authority commits $15 million to fix longstanding ADA violations

Equip for Equality, Access Living and its pro bono counsel settled a class action lawsuit to address longstanding barriers to access to Chicago Transit Authority buses and trains.  Highlights of the settlement terms include:

  • Installation of audio-visual equipment on buses to announce bus stop information to riders who are blind or deaf.
  • Comprehensive rehabilitation of train station elevators.
  • Devoting more people and time to fix elevators when they break down.
  • Placing information about hours when assistance is available for customers with disabilities at the passenger’s boarding and destination rail stations.
  • Maintenance of a database of all ADA-related complaints to be used as guidelines for developing performance standards.
  • Creation of a brochure for people with disabilities with all relevant information for safely and efficiently accessing the system.
  • Monitoring of ADA-related performance by two full-time performance control specialists in wheelchairs.
  • Arranging for alternate transportation for customers with disabilities when there are barriers to mainline transportation.

Learn more about the CTA case settlement.

Client with multiple disabilities is back on the move

Our client uses a wheelchair, is HIV-positive and had a stroke last year.  He relies on a powerchair and door-to-door paratransit service to get around.  He was allowed to use paratransit services at only certain times of the year.  We helped the client appeal these restrictions. We encouraged him to get doctors’ notes to document any health complications that could arise if he did not have paratransit. And we drafted a letter with all the arguments he could make at the appeals hearing. The client used our guidance materials and the letter to make his arguments at the appeal. The result: Our client won full restoration of his paratransit eligibility.

Door-to-door service granted after client appeals

We assisted a woman with orthopedic disabilities who was granted only seasonal conditional status for paratransit service. She wanted to appeal this decision so she could receive taxi vouchers for hospital visits.  Armed with information from Equip for Equality, she persuaded the paratransit provider to overturn its decision and grant the unconditional status she was seeking.

To learn how to advocate for your rights to paratransit (door-to-door) service, read our guide, called ADA Paratransit – How to Make Your Case.

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Last updated: June 29, 2020

This website is made possible by funding support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, both the Administration on Developmental Disabilities and the Center for Mental Health Services of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration; and the U.S. Department of Education, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services. The contents of this website are solely the responsibility of Equip for Equality and do not necessarily represent the official view of any of these agencies.

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