[IL-Talk] December at large minutes

[David Meyer]

NFBI AT LARGE CHAPTER MINUTES
December 1st, 2024
ZOOM Meeting
CALL TO ORDER
At Large Chapter President David Meyer called the meeting to order at 
7:03 PM. Persons in  attendance included Vice President Linda Hendle, 
Bill Reif, Debbie Pittman, Michelle Ault, Leslie  Hamric, Marilyn 
Green, Ken Schad, Eileen Truschke, Jean Johnson, Joel Johnson, Tasabih 
Elfaki,  Yvonne Agyarko, Jemal Powell, Dustin Cather. Everyone shared a 
favorite Christmas memory.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR NOVEMBER 2024 AT LARGE CHAPTER MINUTES
A motion of approval was made and Bill Reif moved and Jean Johnson 
seconded. The minutes were  approved unanimously.
PROGRAM
One of the participants on the program recording is present at the 
meeting.The floor was given to  Leslie Hamric and she introduced the 
item. Pam Berman, Leslie Hamric and Melissa Carney from  Guiding Eyes 
were on WGN News on Tuesday evening. They all participated on the story 
with Uber and  Guide Dog Users which was reported by Dana Rebik.
The cover story was played which covered discrimination in ride share 
service. Some drivers are  illegally turning away blind people with 
guide dogs. Dana Rebik from WGN spoke to several riders  about their 
experiences. Pam Berman and her guide dog Bryon use ride shares to get 
all over the  city. Sometimes she has good experiences and a example 
was shown of a good driver who picked her up  on State street for a 
ride home. But, on a regular basis calling for a car is no walk in the 
park.  Pam explained how one time she felt around for the door handle 
and it was locked. The driver rolled  down the front window and said no 
pets. An example shown was Leslie explaining to a driver that her  dog 
is not a pet, she is her guide dog. We can hear the driver yelling No, 
No pets. After the  example was shown, Leslie stated that she deals 
with this on a weekly basis, one time she had three  denials in one 
week. Leslie and her guide dog, Omega ,got picked up by a Uber Driver 
on Lasalle  Street last week. The Uber driver clearly did not want to 
take them. Leslie is heard explaining to  the driver that Omega is not 
a pet, she is a service dog and she is allowed and the driver cuts her  
off saying No. no pet. He kept cutting her off and Leslie is heard 
saying Do not touch me, you  dont touch me or I am calling the police. 
The driver says No. She is also heard saying You  dont touch my dog or 
I am calling the police. Leslie said the driver tried to physically 
pull her  out of the car multiple times. After some time he gave up and 
begrudgingly drove her to her  destination.
Those in the blind community say drivers commonly tell them they are 
allergic, scared of dogs, or  have a religious exemption. Paul Mollica, 
senior attorney with Equip for Equality, states that  people with 
disabilities who use service animals of any kind have the right to have 
their service  animals with them. The reporter explains that Under 
Title III of the Americans with Disabilities  Act, passed in 1990, 
guide dogs are federally protected service animals and cannot be 
excluded from  places of public accommodation, which include any form 
of transportation, even ride shares.
In Illinois, the Service Animals Access Act and White Cane Law provide 
further protection.
That puts both the provider of the services and, potentially, the 
driver in risk of fines or even  jail for depriving someone of their 
right of access. You need to treat the animals as if they were  a cane 
or an oxygen tank or any other medical device, said Mollica.
It was reported that the companies know they can be liable. In 2021, 
Uber was ordered to pay $1.1  million to a blind woman who was 
discriminated against more than a dozen times with her guide dog  in 
California. Uber tried to argue it was a technology company using 
independent contractors, but a  judge ruled the company is still 
subject to the ADA.
Leslie can be heard telling the driver that when he signed up for Uber 
he agreed to take service  animals and that Uber will find out about 
this. The driver is heard saying No, no.
It was reported that Uber does offer a pet option, but its more 
expensive. PACE Paratransit is  also available for those with 
disabilities, but a ride must be scheduled a day in advance and is  
often times shared with other passengers and runs really late.
Melissa Carney also spoke out and said Given how widespread the issue 
is, I think a government  entity on a federal level needs to step in 
and hold the companies accountable.
Carney also shared some bad experiences she and her guide dog Aron has 
had. There have been times  drivers have yelled at them and her guide 
dog literally starts shaking. Other times, simply because  a driver 
wants to get them out of the car they are dropped of at the wrong destination.
It was reported that Carney joined the Uber/Lyft rally to peacefully 
protest the right to ride with  service animals respectfully, with 
dignity, and with equality. Carney joined hundreds of others  with the 
National Federation of the Blind at a rally in October at Uber 
headquarters in San  Francisco. Many people unified around this 
particular issue and reflected that it sent a very  powerful statement. 
It was reported that they would like to see the companies better train 
their  drivers and penalize those that break the law.
Its very frustrating because we all know our rights, but apparently 
these drivers are either  unable or unwilling to learn them and Uber 
and Lyft do not hold them accountable. said Leslie.
Those affected can file complaints directly with the ride share 
companies. Here in Chicago, you can  also reach out to the Commission 
on Human Relations and the Department of Justice on a federal  level.
WGN News reached out to Uber and Lyft for comment.
A spokesperson for Uber said: Denying service because of a riders 
service animal or assistive  device is strictly prohibited—our policy 
is outlined in our Community Guidelines, and we regularly  send 
reminders that this behavior is unlawful, and may result in permanently 
losing access to the  platform.
A spokesperson from Lyft said:
Discrimination has no place in the Lyft community. We strive to provide 
an inclusive and  accessible platform for riders, including those who 
rely on service animals or mobility devices.  In addition Lyft told WGN 
news that they have a zero tolerance policy and a driver found 
declining  a ride to a person with a disability will face deactivation 
from the platform.
Uber also said that they recently sent all drivers in the U.S. a new 
service animal education video  reminding them it is illegal to deny 
someone a ride because of their service animal.
This was reported by Dana Rebik.
After we listened to the WGN News video Leslie took the floor and 
explained that having a guide dog  is a personal decision, There are 
pros and cons to having a cane just as there are pros and cons to  
having a guide dog. It was noted that Leslie was very calm during her 
ordeal with Uber. Leslie  explained that when advocating that if she 
was not calm the driver might have reacted more negative  than he 
already did. She also explained that by staying calm the end result 
might end up more  positive.
President David Meyer explained that this was chosen as a program item 
to actually try to show the  benefits of actually being able to 
advocate for oneself. Many of us have had to do it and have  chosen to 
do it throughout the course of our lives. We are better off advocating 
as opposed to  taking what is offered and trying to be happy with it. 
We can either let life pass us by or find  our own place in it. David 
Meyer referred back to a Speech by President Mark Riccobono several  
years ago about one being a driver as opposed to being a passenger in 
life. It was at the National  Federation of the Blind of Illinois 
convention so it should be on our web site under the convention  audio. 
This speech had something in it for everybody. This program item today 
was presented to us  in the hopes that when given the choice to either 
advocate or let something go that we choose to  advocate. For one, you 
know at the end of the day that you did something about what is being 
handed  to you that is not right. It also sets an example, not only for 
yourself, but for others to follow.  The more one advocates for 
themselves or for others the easier advocacy actually gets. If you cant 
advocate for yourself it is pretty tough to give advice to others.
PRESIDENTIAL RELEASE
We do not have a Presidential Release available tonight. We are invited 
to tune into the actual  Presidential Release tomorrow. We do still 
have the live Presidential Releases and in October we  started the 
Chapter versions which are shorter. We do usually get an email telling 
us when we  can join in live, we usually get quite a few but it was 
mentioned that a member has not seen one  lately. There will not be a 
live one in December but we should have a live one in January. We can  
always go to nfb.org and they are on there. There is also a podcast of 
Presidential Releases that  we can play thru our Alexa device.
STATE PRESIDENTS REPORT
Today is the last day to submit the application for Washington Seminar. 
We can access the  application from nfbofillinois.org and then go to 
programs and resources and then Washington  Seminar. We just talked 
about advocacy and empowerment. Washington Seminar is a great 
opportunity  to learn more about advocacy. We go to Capital Hill and we 
meet with our members of Congress or  their staffers to talk about 
issues that are put forth by our national office that we believe will  
improve the lives of Blind people thru out the country. Please submit 
it in its original format. It  is reviewed by a committee of blind 
people. We are the blind advocating for ourselves so we need  the 
applications in an accessible format. Email it to 
president at nfbofillinois.org. The Great  Gathering in is February 3rd. 
There will be information on all our list serves. We will be on the 
Hill  February 4th, 5th, and we may have one on the 6th. We have 19 
appointments in Illinois.
Our next State Affiliate Board Meeting is December 11th at 7:00 PM 
Central time. The zoom link is  the same as the one we are using this 
evening. The Board meeting is a great opportunity to learn  about the 
programs that are going on within the NFB and the NFBI.
Everyone was thanked for another great convention and it was another 
opportunity to turn obstacles  into opportunities. It is enjoyed being 
able to share the message of the NFB and have some  fellowship and some 
welcome experiences. It formally ended on Saturday Night with the Great 
Banquet  speech by John Pare. The Sunday Breakfast was a wonderful way 
to informally end our Convention.
Debbie Stein and the people who we planned to have as teachers are 
starting to look for some bell  ringers so if we know of any blind 
children ages from 4 to 12 who could benefit from our  programming 
please reach out to Debbie Stein. Debbie Stein will be the BELL 
Coordinator at  dkent5817 at att.net .
National Scholarships applications should have gone live today. 
nfb.org/scholarships. All of the  information about our National 
Scholarship program should be found at that link. The deadline  should 
be March 31st of 2025. Our State Scholarship is not up yet but should 
be up by the end of  this month.
National Convention 2025 will be in New Orleans, Louisiana, July 8th 
thru the 13th. We can book our  rooms as early as January 2nd. It is 
suggested that we make our reservations early.
OLD BUSINESS
No old business
NEW BUSINESS
Joel Johnson has recently joined to become a member of the AT LARGE 
CHAPTER. A motion of welcome  for Joel was moved and seconded. All 
those in favor said AYE. Joel Johnson was voted in as a member  of the 
AT LARGE CHAPTER.
Leslie Hamric announced that she is volunteering at Second Sense now on 
Mondays as a front desk  receptionist. She is going thru the training 
process now.
Our beloved Cathy Randel has just lost her husband Bob and we would 
like to keep our Cathy in our  thoughts and prayers. There is a 
visitation for Bob coming up on Friday and the obituary will be on  IL 
Talk. Bill Reif let us know that their are trains that go out to 
Springfield and he will be more  than happy to make arrangements for 
transportation to Jacksonville. If anyone will need  transportation to 
and from the train station Bill provided his email and phone number for 
members  to give him a call.
Next meeting will be Sunday, January the 5th.
There will be a Zoom new years Party and a link will be sent out to IL 
Talk, and IABS talk.
The meeting was adjourned
Respectfully Submitted
Michelle Ault
Secretary
Date:
Friday, December 20 at 11:31 AM
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