[IL-Talk] Chicago Chapter Minutes, June 8, 2024

[Deborah Kent Stein]

CHICAGO CHAPTER MINUTES

June 24, 2024

Face-to-face at TGIFridays, 153 E. Erie, Chicago and virtually on Zoom

 

CALL TO ORDER

 

Chicago Chapter President Denise Avant called the meeting to order at 1:00
pm. Members in attendance in person included Michelle Ault, Michal Nowicki,
Paul Shepherdson, Pam Gillmore, Steve Hastalis, Bill Reif, Debbie Stein,
Mary Grunwald, Greg Rosenberg, first-timer Rachel Ng, Jean Johnson, Ruce
Paul, Bart Hickey, Pam Provost, Ken Borst, Jemal Powell, Francisco Chang,
Patti Chang, Kayla Chang (age four), Dustin Cather, Juan Lopez, Sergio
Gonzalez, Marilyn Green, Glenn Moore, and Bridget Hickey. David Meyer,
Eileen Truschke, Melissa Fuller, Marco Giannotti, Alisa Green, Dan Tevelde,
Terry Gorman, Frederick Prete, Mayokunle Efunbote, first-timer MaryAnn
Lustgraaf, Bob Lee, Chris Millsap, Ken Schad, Gary Jones, and Sara Luna
attended on Zoom. Melissa Fuller said that she attended her first Chicago
Chapter meeting exactly ten years ago. Juan Lopez announced that he will get
his real estate license in four weeks.

 

SECRETARY'S MINUTES

 

Jemal Powell moved and Greg Rosenberg seconded approval of the corrected
Secretary's Minutes for the May 2024 chapter meeting. The minutes were
approved.

 

TREASURER'S SUMMARY

 

As Treasurer Kira O'Bradovitch was unable to attend the meeting, Marilyn
Green read the treasurer's summary. The treasury contains $3,151.51. We are
expecting a donation of $100 plus $5.00 in dues. We will need to spend $100
to take part in the Blind Services of Chicago Vision Expo. That will leave
the treasury with $3,162.51. We also will contribute $1,000 to our national
funds. The collection brought in $93. Donations can be made at
nfbofillinois.org.

 

PRESIDENTIAL RELEASE

 

Due to technical difficulties we were unable to play the Presidential
Release. It is available online at nfb.org/publications.

 

PROGRAM

 

Patti Chang presented a program about our organization's branding. We have a
new message that replaces our old one-minute message. Patti asked whether
anyone knew the original one-minute message. Many people recited it in
unison. The new message begins, "The National Federation of the Blind
advances the lives of members and all blind people within the United
States." It goes on to say, "Every day we raise the expectations of blind
people, because low expectations create obstacles between blind people and
their dreams. Our collective power, determination, and diversity achieve the
aspirations of all blind people." We speak collectively for blind people,
whether or not they  are members of the organization. We believe in blind
people, lead courageously, champion collective action, foster independence,
and dream big. 

Dream Big  is the theme of this year's national convention. 

 

Patti said a lot  of thought went  into our brand personality. What do we
want to convey to others about ourselves? Our brand personality is
motivational, transformative, powerful, and inviting.

 

NEW MEMBERS

 

Frederick Prete, Sergio Gonzalez, and Juan Lopez were unanimously voted in
as new members. They will receive their official welcome packets and
membership coins.

 

STATE REPORT

 

NFBI President Marilyn Green reminded everyone that the June NFBI Board
meeting will take place over Zoom on Tuesday, June 11, at 7 pm. Attending is
a great way to learn about our policies and programs.   

 

The NFB National Convention will take place  July 3-8 in Orlando, Florida at
the Rosen Centre Hotel. Convention is our supreme body, our family  reunion,
and our opportunity to learn about our resources and initiatives. 

 

Our annual face-to-face board meeting will take place on August 17 at the
Chicago Marriott Naperville Hotel. Information about reservations is on our
website. Much of the meeting will be devoted to preparing for our state
convention in October. Ideas for convention items are most welcome! 

 

Our NFBI convention will take place October 18-20, also at the Chicago
Marriott Naperville Hotel. Registration will go live after National
Convention. 

 

FEDERAL LEGISLATION

 

Dustin Cather gave a rundown on the pieces of legislation being promoted by
the NFB. He said that not much has changed since his last update. The
Medical Device Nonvisual Accessibility Act, HR1328, introduced by Jan
Schakowsky, has eighty-four cosponsors. Cosponsors from Illinois are Mike
Quigley, Sean Casten, Danny Davis, Jesús García, Raja Krishnamoorthi,    

Jonathan Jackson, and Robin Kelly. Altogether it has sixty-eight Democratic
and six Republican cosponsors. S.3621, the companion bill in the Senate, has
just one cosponsor, a Republican. 

 

The Website Software Applications Accessibility Act, S.2984, was introduced
by Sen. Tammy Duckworth of Illinois. It has five cosponsors, all of them
Democrats. Its companion bill, HR5813, has thirty-five cosponsors, including
Mike Quigley, Jan Schakowski, Jesús García, Jonathan Jackson, and Sean
Casten from Illinois. The sponsors are thirty-four Democrats and one
Republican.

 

The Access Technology Affordability Act, HR3702, has eighty-eight
cosponsors in the House. Our Illinois cosponsors are Mike Bost, Mike
Quigley, Brad Schneider, Jan Schakowski, Raja Krishnamoorthi, and Darrin
LaHood. On that bill we have fifty-five Democrats and thirty-three
Republicans. S.1467, the companion bill, has eighteen cosponsors in the
Senate, eleven Democrats and seven Republicans. None of them are from
Illinois. 

 

HR1263, the Transformation to Competitive and Integrated Employment Act, has
thirty-one cosponsors. Two are from Illinois, Robin Kelly and Mike Quigley.
Twenty-eight Democrats and three Republicans have signed on altogether.
S.533, the companion bill in the Senate, has three cosponsors, two
Republicans and one Democrat. 

 

HR7126 is one of our newer pieces of legislation. It is the Autonomous
Vehicle Accessibility Act. It has four cosponsors, none so far from
Illinois. 

 

We supported HR 3935, the Growth and Leadership in America's Aviation Act,
and it has passed! Patti explained that we fought hard to get important
provisions into this bill. First, it will require airline personnel to get
some disability awareness training. It will improve the accessibility of
airline applications. Finally, it contains big improvements in policy toward
service dogs. Right now guide dog users have to fill out a form for every
flight, including connecting flights. The bilv outlines a pilot program that
would allow a person  to be authorized as a guide dog handler for two or
possibly three years. Right now they literally will refuse to let a guide
dog handler board the plane unless they have the right paperwork! Passage of
this bill is a big victory for us! 

 

NFBI Scholarships

 

Marilyn noted that we have many strong applicants for our scholarships this
year. Candidates are being interviewed, and the committee will meet in the
next two weeks to make its decisions. 

 

BELL ACADEMY

 

Debbie Stein said  that Chicago BELL has an unusual problem this year—we
have nine children registered! This is the largest group we have ever had.
We are looking for more volunteers, and we also plan to hire a teaching
assistant to work with teacher  Bridget Hickey. Juliette Walker and Michelle
Ault called families of children who might be candidates for Springfield
BELL, as we only had two signed up for that program at the beginning of the
month. With all the calls we're now  up to four, so we doubled our
enrollment. 

 

CHICAGO CHAPTER BOARD MEETING

 

Denise reported that the Chicago  Chapter  Board  met on Saturday, June 1.
The board voted  to hold our annual Chicago Chapter picnic at the Lincoln
Park Zoo on  July  27, beginning at noon. We will meet at the Landmark Café.


 

The board recommended that we donate one thousand dollars to four national
funds: $300 to White Cane, $300 to tenBroek, $300 to Jernigan, and  $100 to
SUN Shares. Marilyn moved and Jemal seconded that we make these
contributions. The motion carried.

 

The board also recommended that the chapter take part in the Blind Services
of Chicago Vision Expo on October 29. Registration costs $100. Pam Provost
moved and Jemal seconded that the chapter participate. The  motion  carried.

 

COMMITTEE REPORTS

 

Advocacy: Dustin and Michelle said that the Advocacy Committee will schedule
a meeting for the week of June 17. The CTA Board changed its next meeting
to June  25. The meeting will take place at 567  W.  Lake Street on the
second floor. We still need people to make public comments about the signage
at CTA bus stops. The only information currently provided in Braille are the
words "Bus Stop." We want the same information that is available to sighted
riders. 

 

Fundraising Committee: Marilyn reported on fundraising, since, due to
technical difficulties, committee chair Dave Meyer couldn't be heard on
Zoom. Dave will donate up to $75 for dinner to reward the  person who brings
in the most people from outside the chapter. The bowling fundraiser will be
held on Saturday, August 24 from 3 to 5 PM, at Fireside Bowl, 2648 West
Fullerton. The fee is $35, whether you bowl or not. Pizza is  included. You
can pay through  Zell, PayPal, or with cash. 

 

Games Night: We will hold Games Night at Exchequer on September 7 from 1 to
5 PM. The price to take part is to be determined. The committee is working
on some other fundraising ideas as well. The  next Fundraising Committee
meeting will take place on Zoom on June 25 at 7:30 pm.

Our annual Read-a-Thon will be held on Saturday, October 12, as we will not
have a chapter meeting that month due to State Convention. The Read-a-thon
will take place on Zoom.

 

The Fundraising  Committee is working on where and when to hold our annual
holiday auction. 

 

Pam Gillmore brought an item for a mini auction, and Dustin ran the auction.
The  mini-auction brought in $60.

 

ADJOURNMENT

 

The meeting adjourned at 2:41 PM.

 

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Stein, Secretary

 

 

 



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