[IL-Talk] Chicago Celebrates Disability Pride Month

[davant1958 at gmail.com]

Hello All,

On July 19, I was invited to a Chicago city Council event to recognize
Disability Pride Month.

The following resolution has been passed by the city Council and signed by
Mayor Johnson.

"R E S O L U T I O N

WHEREAS, Disability Pride Month is celebrated in July in recognition of the
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) being signed into law on July 26,
1990; and

 

WHEREAS, the Chicago Disability Pride Parade is celebrating its 20th
anniversary on July 22, 2023; and

 

WHEREAS, disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental,
physical, sensory, or a combination of multiple factors, and can fall on a
spectrum from readily visible to non-visible; and

 

WHEREAS, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up to
27 percent of adults in the United States have some type of disability,
crossing lines of age, race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual
orientation, and socioeconomic status; and

 

WHEREAS, the ADA prevents discrimination based on disability, requires that
employers provide reasonable accommodations, and ensures that public
accommodations meet certain accessibility requirements; and

 

WHEREAS, people with disabilities continue to face barriers, particularly
with respect to access to comprehensive and affordable healthcare and
employment; and

 

            WHEREAS, throughout the City's history, members of Chicago's
disability rights community have been leaders on disability issues, leading
to the passage of the ADA, the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and the United
Nations' Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and

 

WHEREAS, the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities provides programs
and services to ensure compliance with federal, state, and local disability
rights laws and regulations, prepare people with disabilities for meaningful
career opportunities, accessing community resources, promote accessible
public transportation, and provide home accessibility modifications for
low-income Chicago residents with disabilities, among others; and

 

            WHEREAS, the City is committed to making Chicago a worldclass
accessible location on behalf of all residents and visitors with
disabilities; now, therefore,

 

            BE IT RESOLVED, that we, the Mayor and Members of the City
Council of the City of Chicago, assembled this nineteenth day of July, 2023,
do hereby recognize the month of July as Disability Pride Month in the City
of Chicago, and encourage all Chicagoans to celebrate the identities and
cultures of people with disabilities and the fierce advocacy of those in the
disability rights movement."