[IL-Talk] February at large minutes

[datemeyer at sbcglobal.net]

NFBI AT LARGE CHAPTER MINUTES

February 10th, 2025

ZOOM Meeting

CALL TO ORDER

At Large Chapter President David Meyer called the meeting to order at 7:04
PM. Persons in  attendance included President David Meyer, Vice President
Linda Hendle, Tasabih Elfaki, Debbie  Pittman, Michelle Ault, Jemal Powell,
Eileen Truschke, Ken Schad, Dennis Devitt, and first timer  Robert Frazier.

APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR JANUARY 2025 AT LARGE CHAPTER MEETING

Debbie Pittman moved and Linda Hendle seconded. All in favor said Aye and
minutes were approved.

PROGRAM

This month we will be talking about the REAL ID, It is a requirement by all
States to have a REAL  ID. and the deadline is May 7th, 2025. We will not be
able to fly or go into a federal building  without it. We can use a passport
in place of a REAL ID and we can also use a passport ID Card.  David Meyer
played the recording which tells people what we need for a REAL ID.

There are three different groups of documents for identification. We need
certain ones from each  group. We need one item from Group One: Certified
copy of a Birth Certificate, valid US Passport or  passport card, Consular
Report of Birth Abroad issued by the U.S. Department of State, Certificate
of Citizenship issued by the U.S Department of Homeland Security, a
Certificate of Naturalization  issued by DHS Form N-550 or form N-570,
Employment Authorization Document issued by DHS, Foreign  passport with a
U.S.Visa affixed accompanied by the approved form I-94 documenting your most
recent  admittance to the U.S., Permanent Resident Card issued by the DHS or
the U.S. Immigration and  Naturalization Service, REAL ID DL/ID card issued
in compliance with the standards of Part 37 if  you already have a REAL ID.
You will also need name change documents, such as a certified marriage
certificate. This is required if your current name differs from the name on
your birth certificate.  This will prove your identity, date of birth, and
U.S. Citizenship.

We need one item from Group Two: Social Security card, or a W2 with your
full social security  number or your most recent pay stub or printed
electronic deposit receipt bearing your name and  full social security
number or the SSA 1099 Form or non SSA 1099 Form to prove your Social
Security  Number. This will prove your Social Security Number,

We need two documents from Group Three: bank statement dated 90 days prior
to your application must  have address on it, canceled check with address
dated within 90 days prior to your application,  certified grade/high school
or university college transcript, credit card statement dated within  90
days before the application which must be VISA. MASTERCARD, AMERICAN EXPRESS
or DISCOVER,  Credit report issued by Experian, Equifax, or TransUnion dated
within 12 months prior to  application, A deed/title mortgage or rental
lease agreement, Insurance policy, homeowners or  rental, Utility bill which
could be electronic, water, refuse, phone, cable or gas which must have
been issued 90 days prior to date of application. A voter registration card.
These are just a few  examples stated that we will need to prove our
residency.

We need one of the following from a fourth group with our written signature:
A Sate ID current or  expired for less than one year, a canceled check, a
passport, a medicare card, mortgage or  installment loan document, These are
examples. They want something that shows our written signature.

This program was closed with a reminder from Debbie Pittman to make sure
that we get our REAL ID  before May 7th.

SECOND PROGRAM ITEM

Washington Seminar

Michelle Ault shared her experience attending Washington Seminar. Our team
this year was Marilyn  Green, Abbu Elfaki, Kaitlin Ryan, Olivia Cichowlas,
Jean Johnson, Tanisia Bowman, Hao Wen, and  myself. It was such an amazing
experience. On Monday morning I discovered the Congressional  building
models exhibit. It was really nice to be able to feel them and tell what the
buildings  were shaped liked because it made going to the buildings easier.
The State Presidents and  Legislative Directors had a briefing in the
morning and NABS had their Winter Student Seminar.

At noon we had a Career Fair and we were able to meet some of the employers
hiring and talk to  them. It was a great way to get to know the different
employers.

We had a Legislative Seminar at 2:00 and had the opportunity to meet our
government affairs group.  A few weeks before we went to Washington Seminar
the Illinois team practiced on each other how to  present the different Acts
by doing mock meetings. We learned about the three different Acts we  were
going to discuss beforehand and the Illinois team studied these Acts weeks
ahead of time. The  Acts that we discussed and did mock meetings on before
we arrived to Washington Seminar were the  Medical Device Nonvisual
Accessibility Act, the Website and Software Applications Accessibility  Act,
and Blind Americans Return to Work Act. At the Legislative Seminar we
learned that we also had  other priorities that we wanted to make our
Representatives aware of and really needed their  support on. We learned
that we would also be discussing the Laws the Blind Depend On such as the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, especially Section 501, 503, 504, and 508. The
second Act was The  Americans with Disabilities Act, Title I, Title II, and
Title III. The third Act was the  Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act. We really wanted to stress the importance of these  Acts and how they
needed to be protected. We also presented some Federal Funding the Blind
Depends  on such as Special Education funding, Vocational Rehabilitation
Funding. Free Matter for the Blind,  National Library Services for the Blind
and a few others. The National Federation of the Blind of  Illinois team was
just so awesome and we were able to adapt to anything thrown our way.

Monday evening we had our Great Gathering-In. It was just amazing! We had
about 400-500 of us  gathering in the room together. The National Federation
of The Blind presented a plague to  Congressman Pete Sessions. It was our
Distinguished Legislator Award. It was given to him for  actively supporting
us through out the years. He sponsored the Blind Americans Return to Work
Act  and he also Co-Sponsored other legislation to advance the lives of
Blind people. We also did some  more mock meetings with our Government
Affairs group. That night after the Great Gathering In, NABS  had their
Annual Auction. It was great to network with students from all around the
country and  meet new people.

Tuesday we went to work and started our meetings with Representatives. Our
team met with about 18  different Representatives or their aids over the
course of two days. It was a lot of running  around, high energy. After our
meeting on Tuesday we had a Reception and had the opportunity to  hear
Congresswoman Lateefah Simon speak. She is one of the first members of
Congress known to be  legally Blind. She just got everyone so pumped up.
Wednesday we had more meetings.

It was such a empowering experience and the way our team and the whole
National Federation of The  Blind came together, just walking down the
hallways with our canes, it was just an amazing  experience. The energy at
the Great Gathering-In was so high and after leaving the Great  Gathering-In
you just really feel so empowered.

PRESIDENTIAL RELEASE

This is Presidential Release 546.

We discussed our legislative work and for each of us to be engaged in our
legislative priorities of  The National Federation of the Blind. Our
National Convention sets the priorities for our  organization, and between
conventions our board of directors has the responsibility for carrying  out
those priorities. Part of the work at the national level is providing
assistance, technical  assistance, to state affiliates of the federation as
local advocacy efforts are undertaken. That  relates to our legislative
priorities at the National level as we seek legislative change at the  state
level in order to create momentum for our national priorities.

President Mark Riccobono wants to reassure everybody that the federation
will take a careful  analysis of any new policy or proposed policy changes,
to make sure that we have a good  understanding of the potential effects
that that policy will have on blind people or programs that  are important
to blind people. We do want to be careful not to overreact and start taking
action  until we have fully analyzed the policy to make sure that we have
all the details. A good example is  about challenges being undertaken by
some states to challenge the 504 statute under the  Rehabilitation Act, and
its viability. There are items we are concerned about and we will let you
know when there is cause to mobilize.

For the 119th Congress that has just started our board has prioritized the
same three issues that  were the focus of our Washington Seminar in 2024.
Number one, The Websites and Software Application  Accessibility Act. Our
second legislative priority is the Medical Device Non-Visual Accessibility
Act. The third item is the Blind Americans Return to Work Act. We are all
encouraged to review the  fact sheets and be familiar with them. We can
review all of these in detail at our Washington  Seminar page:
nfb.org/Washington-seminar.

President Mark Riccobono would like to highlight that there are many other
issues that we are  promoting during the year. A few are our Integrated
Competitive Employment Act, and the Access  Technology Affordability Act.

We are encouraged to think about the advocacy efforts of the federation and
how to teach each other  how to be better self advocates. When we know that
self-advocacy is not enough, we work together in  collective action to get
the systemic change that we need. If there are things we dont understand  we
are encouraged to ask questions so that we are informed and well educated as
we can be so we can  be better advocates.

STATE REPORT

The State Board Meeting will be on Wednesday, February 19th at 7:00 PM.

The National Scholarship application deadline is March 31 at 11:59 PM, ET.
The web site is  http://www.nfb.org/scholarships.

The State Scholarship application deadline is April 30 at 11:59 PM CT.

We have our Midwest Student Seminar at the Holiday Inn Chicago Ohare from
March 7th - 9th. It is a  great opportunity for college students to network
with other blind students and learn about the  programs of the National
Federation of the Blind. If the student has a case open with rehab, they
can contact their counselor to express an interest. Visit
http://www.nabs-link.org.  The registration deadline is February 28th.

We will have our first STEM2U program on Saturday, August 23 at the Chicago
Marriott Naperville  Hotel. We will also have two BELL programs. Our Chicago
program is a two week day program, July  21st-August 1st at the Chicago
Lighthouse. Our Springfield program is a 1-week residential program  August
4th-8th. Reach out to Debbie Stein at 7 7 3-2 0 3-1 3 9 4 or
dkent5817 at att.net  for information or if you would like to volunteer as an
adult blind mentor.

Our National Convention is in New Orleans this year from July 8-13 at the
Marriott New Orleans.  This will be our headquarter hotel while across the
street is the Sheraton New Orleans providing  the balance of our sleeping
rooms and activity space. Reserve your room by calling 8 8 8-2 3 6-2 4 2 7
for  the Marriott or 8 5 5-5 1 6-1 0 9 0 for the Sheraton New Orleans. Ask
for the National Federation of the  Blind 2025 Convention block. 

The nightly rate for both the Marriott and the Sheraton is 119 dollars for
singles and doubles,  while triples and quads can be booked for 129 dollars
per night. You should also anticipate the combined sales tax and tourism
support rate of 16.2 percent and note there is a hotel occupancy fee  of
3.00 dollars per night.

Deposit and Cancellation

At the time you make a reservation, a deposit of the first nights stay is
required for each room  reserved. If you use a credit card, the deposit will
be charged against your card immediately, just  as would be the case with a
check. If a reservation is canceled before Sunday, June 1, 2025, half  of
the deposit will be returned. Otherwise, refunds will not be made.

OLD BUSINESS

Debbie Pittman reminded us that our next month we will be discussing our
Popcorn Fundraiser.

NEW BUSINESS

Dennis Devitt was welcomed in as a At Large Chapter Member. Debbie Pittman
moved and Linda Hendle  seconded. All in favor said Aye.

Elections are in April for board members and officers. All elections are
open and all seats are  open for election. Current Members of the board are
President: David Meyer, Vice President: Linda  Hendle, Secretary/Treasurer:
Michelle Ault, Board Members: Debbie Pittman and Cathy Randel. Anyone  can
run for a board seat or any officer seat.

Next Chapter Meeting is March 2nd, which is the first Sunday of the month at
7:00 PM.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30PM. Debbie Pittman moved and Linda Hendle
seconded. All in favor  said Aye

Respectfully Submitted,

Michelle Ault

Secretary

Date:

Friday, February 21 at 9:12 AM

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