[IL-Talk] Chicago Chapter Minutes, April 2025, Revised

[Deborah Kent Stein]

NFBI CHICAGO CHAPTER
April 14, 2025
TGIFridays, 153 E. Erie St., Chicago

 
CALL TO ORDER

Chicago Chapter President Denise Avant called the meeting to order at 1:00 pm. She thanked all those who have offered their support since the passing of her mother in February. We talk about our Federation family, and this is a true example of what we mean.

Denise asked for a moment of silence in memory of George Villa, a longtime Chicago Chapter member who passed away in February. She said there would not be a program today, as Jemal Powell was dealing with a family emergency.

Persons in attendance were Eileen Truschke, Rachel Ng, Pam Gillmore, Mary Grunwald, Paul Shepherdson, Eduardo Ocampo, Bruce Paul, Alicia Brockway from Aira, Ken Borst, Chris Millsap, Dan Tevelde, Melissa Fuller, Michelle Ault, Jean Johnson, Marilyn Green, Ericka Randolph, Kira O'Bradovitch, Sara Luna, Marco Giannotti, Michal Nowicki, Sharon Thompson, Andre Battle, and Kevin Madden and his mother, Karen. On Zoom were David Meyer, Alicia Green, Bill Reif, Ed Birmingham, Juliette Walker, Eric Sykes, Robert Hansen, Sabiha Vohra, Bob Lee, Jemal Powell, Bob Widman, Gary Jones, James Wright, Steve Hastalis, Pam Provost, and Patti Chang.

PRESIDENTIAL RELEASE

NFB President Mark Riccobono recorded Presidential Release 548 on April 2, 2025. He reminded all members that it's important to ask questions and understand what we do as an organization and why we do it. He also encouraged people to read the Braille Monitor and other NFB publications.

He then turned to the Advocacy section on Presidential Release Live No. 50.
President Ricobono ctalked about the tremendous amount of work the NFB has been doing over the past month. The Medicare Telehealth provisions were set to expire at the end of March. We wrote to all members of Congress, urging them to make sure that telehealth benefits are extended. The Medicare Telehealth benefits have been extended through the end of the fiscal year 2025, which is September. Our advocacy made a difference, but we need to continue to advocate to make telehealth services permanent, as they benefit many blind people who lack transportation. 

On March 14 the White House issued an executive order eliminating the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS). On March 19 we sent a letter to the chairs of the ranking House and Senate Appropriations Committees about the importance of the IMLS in funding libraries for the blind. In many states the library for the blind is completely funded through IMLS, so they face dramatic shutdown. So far the Library of Congress is unaffected, but we're very concerned about states that get most or all of their funding from IMLS. Most employees of IMLS have been placed on administrative leave.

On March 20 the White House issued an executive order to begin efforts to close the Department of Education. On March 25 we sent a letter to the Secretary of Education, urging her to maintain a transition for critical programs for people with disabilities, especially blind people. The Department of Education handles all services related to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), the Federal Quota System operated by the American Printing House for the Blind (APH), Vocational Rehabilitation, the Randolph Shepard Program, andthe Independent Living Services Program for older adults who are blind. We need to make sure members of Congress know that the blind of America want these programs to be protected. 

The Federation has been very active since March, when the administration announced dramatic cuts to Social Security that will affect blind people.
These cuts include a significant reduction in personnel and offices, changes to identification procedures, and the reinstatement of aggressive overpayment procedures. Already these changes are dramatically affecting blind people. On March 26 we sent a letter to the Acting Commissioner of Social Security, and we continue to do advocacy work in Congress. We expect to take additional action in this area. 

All of our policy letters can be found in the Policy section on our NFB website. Keep up the advocacy work! There will be plenty more for us to do!

We have gained momentum in Congress since Washington Seminar. We are making gains on HR 1529, the Access Technology Affordability Act. In the past month we picked up fourteen new cosponsors, bringing our total to fifty! We know there will be a new tax package, and we want to make sure that the Access Technology Affordability Act is included. 

We have been talking in the past month about the lawsuit called Texas vs Kennedy, which threatens to eliminate our protections under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. Seventeen states have taken part in this lawsuit. We urge Federationists in those states to push their legislators to withdraw from this case. Four of the seventeen affiliates have passed resolutions about this issue. A hearing is coming up on April 21, which will give us much more information. 

A number of blind federal employees have been let go. We want to hear from them. The NFB has joined with other disability organizations to sue the Social Security Administration over reductions in service that will harm blind people. 

LEGISLATION
 
Denise announced that we are now up to 18 cosponsors on the Access Technology Affordability Act. From Illinois Reps. Bost and LaHood, both Republicans, have signed on. Altogether there are ten Democrats and eight Republicans sponsoring that bill. The Blind Americans Return to Work Act has ten cosponsors, seven Democrats and three Republicans. None of them are from Illinois. 

STATE REPORT

NFBI President Marilyn Green invited everyone to ask questions, especially our new people. 

She spoke about several NFBI programs.

NFB of Illinois Scholarship Program: The deadline for state scholarship applications is April 30, so there is still time to apply. Go to nfbofillinois.org/scholarships to apply, or reach out to scholarships at nfbofillinois.org with questions. 

Our next state board meeting will take place on April 23 at 7 pm on Zoom. 

National Convention: National Convention will be held in New Orleans, July 8 through 13. Visit nfb.org/convention for information. Kenneth Jernigan Scholarship applications for financial assistance must be in by April 15.  

BELL Academy: Chicago BELL will run July 21 through August 1 and will be held at the Chicago Lighthouse. It is open to blind and low-vision children ages four through twelve. For information contact Debbie Stein at
773-203-1394 (dkent5817 at att.net) or Abbu Elfaki at telfaki at gmail.com. Our Springfield program runs August 4-8. 

We also will host a STEM 2 U program this year on August 23, coordinated by Alaulla (Aihua) Sprecher and assisted by Debbie Stein. This is a program for students who are interested in STEM, and we'll need adult blind mentors.
Mentors for all youth programs need to provide references and undergo background checks. 

NFBI Convention will take place the weekend of October 17-19 at our familiar and beloved Chicago Marriott Naperville Hotel. Save the dates!  

SECRETARY's MINUTES

Eileen moved and Steve seconded approval of the February secretary's minutes. The minutes were approved.

TREASURER's REPORTS

Treasurer Kira O'Bradovitch reported that at the end of the fourth quarter in 2024 the chapter had $3183.84. There was a donation of $150, $40 in membership dues, $83 collection in January and $52 in February for a total of $135, and $955 from events, fora total income of $1290. Expenses included our three monthly donations of $50 to NFB funds and $500 to the Museum of the Blind People's Movement. Our total expenses came to $842. We also deposited $2800, mostly from the December auction. 

At the end of the first quarter we had $5275.84. Jemal moved and Michal seconded approval of the report. The First Quarter Report was approved. 

Denise explained that the chapter board met at the end of March and approved our budget for 2025. She asked Kira to read the budget for the membership's approval. 

The budget included goals and expenses of about $6900. Income is projected for $7150. Marilyn moved and Jemal seconded approval. The budget was approved.

ELECTIONS

Annual chapter elections were held, and the following board was elected:
President, Denise Avant; First Vice President, Patti Chang; Second Vice President, Dustin Cather; Secretary, Debbie Stein; Treasurer, Kira O'Bradovitch; and board members Marilyn Green, Michelle Ault, Jean Johnson, and Ken Borst. All were elected by the famous Chicago Chapter Acclamation Thing. Steve Hastalis chose to step down from the board after many years of devoted service.

FUNDRAISING

Dave Meyer said the chapter will hold a Game Day on Saturday, May 3, at Exchequer Pub. The cost is $40 if you sign up by April 28 and $45 if you reserve after that date.  

ADVOCACY

Kira reported that Michelle Ault, Ken Borst, Steve Hastalis, and Debbie Pittman attended a meeting with CTA on April 4. The meeting ran for 2-1/2 hours! Our group gave a presentation about the signage we want on CTA bus stops. It would include information in Braille and large print rather than relying on QR codes or other digital information. CTA actually printed out information in Braille to present to our members at the meeting! Everyone on the CTA board had something to say about accessibility. They really seemed to grasp its importance. The Advocacy Committee will go over information from the meeting in more detail and will present it at our next chapter meeting. 

Kira, Denise, and Marilyn spoke on a panel with the Chicago Election Board about accessible voting. 

NEW MEMBERS

Denise announced that Sharon Thompson, Kevin Madden, Andre Battle, and James Wright have paid dues and wish to become members of the Chicago Chapter. All were voted in and welcomed with enthusiasm. 

NEW BUSINESS

Mary Grunwald asked if the Fundraising Committee can have a copy of the 2025 budget. Denise said that of course they are welcome to review it. The Fundraising Committee will meet on April 22. 

Pam Provost asked if there is a problem with the NFB listservs, as some messages appear garbled. Patti said it's a nationwide problem, and they're working on it. 

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 3:05 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Debbie Stein, Secretary

 

 



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