Progress Center

Membership and Outreach Meeting
2026-02-18 14:30 - 16:00, 2026-01-21 14:30 - 16:00, 2025-10-15 14:30 - 16:00 (America/Chicago) | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
Join Progress Center for our monthly M&O Committee meeting at our Forest Park office or over Zoom.
Call or email Demetra for more information at 705-209-1500 ext. 118 or dkaras@progresscil.org.

Latonya Reeves Freedom Act Working group
2026-02-12 14:00 - 15:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
Latonya Reeves Freedom Act Working Group
Time: 2:00 pm on the second Thursday of every month
Place: Progress Center Main Office in Forest Park and Zoom
Contact Community Organizer Jonathan Barton at 708-209-1500 ext.122 or jbarton@progresscil.org for more information and the Zoom link.

Voter Education Workshop
2026-02-12 13:00 - 14:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
Progress Center invites you ….
It’s midterm election year. Join this one-hour voter education workshop to lean about the voting process – how to register to vote, where to vote, how to find out what’s on your ballot, how to learn about candidates running for office, and more.
Thursday, February 12
1:00 pm to 2:00 pm
Progress Center Forest Park office and Zoom (hybrid)
For more information, directions to our office or the Zoom link, call Progress Center’s Community Organizer Clark Craig at 708-209-1500 or email info@progresscil.org.

Larry Biondi Fellowship (LBF) Monthly Planning Meeting
2026-02-12 11:00 - 12:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
This meeting will take place on Thursday, February 12, from 11:00am to 12:00pm in person in our Forest Park office and over Zoom. Email info@progresscil.org for more information or the Zoom link.

Transportation Advocacy Group
2026-02-11 10:00 - 11:00 | Progress Center’s Blue Island office
Transportation Advocacy Group
Time: 10:00 am on the Second Wednesday of every month
Place: Progress Center Blue Island office and Zoom
Contact Manuel Gonzalez at 708-209-1500 ext. 201 or mgonzalez@progresscil.org for more information and the Zoom link.

Voter Education Workshop
2026-02-02 18:00 - 19:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
Progress Center invites you ….
It’s midterm election year. Join this one-hour voter education workshop to lean about the voting process – how to register to vote, where to vote, how to find out what’s on your ballot, how to learn about candidates running for office, and more.
Monday, February 2nd
6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Progress Center Forest Park office and Zoom (hybrid)
For more information, directions to our office or the Zoom link, call Progress Center’s Community Organizer Clark Craig at 708-209-1500 or email info@progresscil.org.

Healthcare Advocacy Group
2026-01-27 13:00 - 14:00
Healthcare Advocacy Group
The first meeting will be on January 27th.
Community Organizer Clark Craig
Time: 1:00 pm on the Fourth Tuesday of every Month
Place: Progress Center Main Office in Forest Park and Zoom
Contact Clark Craig at 708-209-1500 ext. 114 or ccraig@progresscil.org for more information and the Zoom link.

FOOTBALL GAME PARTY And COMMUNITY CANVASSING EVENT
2026-01-18 14:30 - 21:00
D I S A B I L I T Y C O M M U N I T Y M E M B E R S
A N D
C H I C A G O F O O T B A L L F A N S
A R E A W I N N I N G T E A M ! ! !
WE are PROGRESS CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING.
WE provide services + supports for people with disabilities to live independently in the community and achieve our self-determined goals.
Learn more about our services, supports, meetings, trainings, and events AND
OUR FOOTBALL GAME PARTY / COMMUNITY CANVASSING EVENT on SUNDAY, JANUARY 18TH 2O26 from 2:30pm to 9: 00pm, at 7521 Madison Street and Des Plaines Avenue in Forest Park (right next to the CTA #318 BUS STOP on Madison Street and Des Plaines Ave., and just 2 blocks away from the FOREST PARK CTA BLUE LINE TRAIN STATION).
As a team, WE can develop a “NEVER GIVE UP!” spirit and a special fearlessness to defeat our arch rivals: paternalism, totalitarianism, and ableism.
WE achieve the biggest victories WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER AS ONE !!!

G O I N D E P E N D E N T L I V I N G ! ! ! G O C H I C A G O ! ! !
G O D I S A B I L I T Y R I G H T S ! ! ! G O W E T H E P E O P L E ! ! !

To make a reservation, email jbarton@progresscil.org TODAY, or call (708) 435 – 4667. Reservations are required for this event.

Transportation Advocacy Group
2026-01-14 10:00 - 11:00
Transportation Advocacy Group
The first meeting will be on January 14th.
Community Organizer Manuel Gonzalez
Time: 10:00 am on the Second Wednesday of every Month
Place: Progress Center Blue Island office and Zoom
Contact Manuel Gonzalez at 708-209-1500 ext. 201 or mgonzalez@progresscil.org for more information and the Zoom link.

FOOTBALL GAME PARTY And COMMUNITY CANVASSING EVENT
2026-01-10 16:00 - 22:00
DISABILITY COMMUNITY MEMBERS
A N D
CHICAGO FOOTBALL FANS
ARE A WINNING TEAM ! ! !

WE are PROGRESS CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING.
WE provide services + supports for people with disabilities to live independently in the community and achieve self- determined goals.
Learn more about our services, supports, meetings, events, trainings AND OUR FOOTBALL GAME PARTY / COMMUNITY CANVASSING EVENT ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 1Oth 2O26 from 4pm to 1Opm, at 7521 Madison Street in Forest Park.
As a team, we can develop a “NEVER GIVE UP !” spirit and a special fearlessness to defeat our arch rivals: paternalism, totalitarianism, and ableism. We achieve the biggest victories WHEN WE WORK TOGETHER AS ONE ! ! !
GO INDEPENDENT LIVING ! ! ! GO CHICAGO ! ! !
GO DISABILITY RIGHTS ! ! ! GO WE THE PEOPLE ! ! !

For more information email jbarton@progresscil.org or call ( 708 ) 435 – 4667

Latonya Reeves Freedom Act Advocacy Group
2026-01-08 14:00 - 15:00
The LATONYA REEVES FREEDOM ACT working group will be held every second Thursday of the month from 2:00PM to 3:00PM.
The first LATONYA REEVES FREEDOM ACT working group meeting will be held at PCIL in Forest Park (7521 Madison Street) on Thursday, January 8th 2O26.
We plan to share with the public Latonya’s life story, the need for the REEVES FREEDOM ACT to be reintroduced and passed into U.S. law NOW, and how we can help advocate for it and demand that the United States Congress discuss why the bill is not only a great bill, but it is SURVIVAL NECESSARY for people with disabilities.
Contact Community Organizer Jonathan Barton at 708-209-1500 ext.122 or jbarton@progresscil.org for more information and the Zoom link.

FOOTBALL GAME PARTY And COMMUNITY CANVASSING EVENT
2026-01-04 12:00 - 16:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
DISABILITY COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND CHICAGO FOOTBALL FANS ARE A WINNING TEAM ! ! !

WE are PROGRESS CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING.
WE provide services + supports for people with disabilities to live as independently as possible and achieve self-determined goals.
Go to our website TODAY to learn more about our services, supports, meetings, AND OUR FOOTBALL GAME PARTY / COMMUNITY CANVASSING EVENT ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 4th 2O26 FROM 12:00 NOON TO 4:00PM, at 7521 Madison Street in Forest Park.
GO INDEPENDENT LIVING!! GO CHICAGO!!
GO DISABILITY RIGHTS!! GO WE THE PEOPLE!!
For more email me at jbarton@progresscil.org
or (7O8) 435 – 4667.

H A P P Y H O L I D A Y S ! ! !

Shop-In
2025-12-17 12:30 - 14:30
Progress Center is having a Shop-In this month. Shop-Ins are opportunities to show businesses the buying power and solidarity of the disability community. This is also our Member holiday gathering. We are meeting at Tacos 76. The address is 838 Madison Street, Oak Park, IL 60302. We will meet at the restaurant at 12:30pm. There is no tradition Membership and Outreach meeting this month, so the drop-off and pick-up location is the same. (There is no official end time; it’s up to you how long you’d like to stay.)
Please call 708-209-1500 ext. 118 or email dkaras@progresscil.org for more information

Art Peer Support Group
2025-12-12 14:00 - 15:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
Do you feel called to express your ideas and interests ?
ART FORGING AUTONOMY WELCOMES YOU !!!

Join us every Friday from 2:OOpm to 4:OOpm.

We are a group with disabilities who enjoy the process of finding new ways to communicate our experiences.

We would like you to attend our group at
7521 Madison Street in Forest Park at
Progress Center for Independent Living .

Our goal is to be a place which supports people with disabilities where you can share with others and be empowered, inspired and free through the countless fun ways of forging autonomy with art .

CALL (708) 435 – 4667 TO LEARN MORE TODAY !!!

A R T F O R G I N G A U T O N O M Y

Illinois ABLE Account Informational Webinar
2025-12-10 13:00 - 14:00
Progress Center invites you…
Illinois ABLE Account Informational Webinar
Wednesday, December 10 at 2:00 pm
Join online from any location, or meet at Progress Center in Forest Park to join the webinar.
Know about tax-advantaged IL ABLE savings and investment accounts if you have a disability or you help someone who has a disability. Join the IL ABLE team to learn:
• Who is eligible to own an IL ABLE Account and expanded eligibility starting January 1.
• Who can open an IL ABLE Account.
• How individuals receiving public benefits such as SSI and Medicaid benefits can build assets with an IL ABLE Account.
• How IL ABLE Accounts work alongside other financial tools such as special needs trusts and retirement accounts.
Call Progress Center at 708-209-1500 extension 118 or email dkaras@progresscil.org for information on how to join the webinar.

Membership and Outreach
2025-11-19 14:30 - 16:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States

Presentation: “Deaf Culture”
2025-09-29 13:00 - 15:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
During Deaf Awareness month … JOIN US FOR A SPECIAL DAY DEDICATED TO RAISING AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING COMMUNITY.
“Deaf Culture”
Presenters will be Carol Nemecek-Kowalski and Rhychell Barnes
PLEASE JOIN US!
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 29TH
1pm -3pm
Progress Center for Independent Living
7521 Madison Street
Forest Park, IL 60130
Spaces are limited, reservation is required, please contact:
Demetra Karas (dkaras@progresscil.org) or call at 708-209-1500
**Sign Language interpreter will be provided**

Membership and Outreach meeting
2025-09-17 14:30 - 16:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
Join Progress Center for our monthly M&O meeting at our Forest Park office or over Zoom.
Call or email Demetra for more information at 705-209-1500 or dkaras@progresscil.org.

Blue Island Disability Committee
2025-09-16 14:00 - 15:30 | Progress Center’s Blue Island office
In collaboration with the City of Blue Island, Progress Center for Independent Living is creating a Disability Committee in the community. We are pleased to invite you to the Committee’s first meeting. During this meeting, we will discuss the mission of the Committee, as well as plans and logistics of future meetings.
We are seeking representation from all of Blue Island: First and foremost, people with disabilities and their families. We want to be joined by city representatives, businesspeople, local organizations and officials, and others who support the disability community who want to put Blue Island on the map of cities and towns who lead our movement of accessibility, inclusion, and success.
The Disability Committee will meet on Tuesday, September 16 at 2:00pm at Progress Center’s Blue Island office at 12940 S. Western Avenue. It is in the Moraine Valley Community College at Blue Island building, 3rd Floor. We look forward to seeing you there.
Please call Manuel at 708-388-5011 if you will be attending or for further information.

Suicide Prevention Training
2025-09-15 10:00 - 11:30 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
Suicide Prevention Training
Progress Center invites you to a QPR Mental Health Training session. QPR stands for “Question, Persuade, Refer” and is an effective method of recognizing suicide warnings and preventing suicide. Anyone can take the training for free. Presented by the Kenneth Young Center at Progress Center’s Forest Park office, QPR training is highly recommended for care providers, case managers, educators, and whoever else would find it helpful. At the end of the hour of training, there will be an optional role-play opportunity, and participants will receive a certificate of completion.
Question, Persuade, and Refer (QPR) – these are the three steps anyone can learn to help save a life from suicide. This training will help you learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone to help.

September 15 at 10:00 to 11:30 am
Progress Center for Independent Living
7521 Madison Street, Forest Park, IL

Email dkaras@progresscil.org or call 708-209-1500 ext.118 to let us know you’ll be attending and any accommodation requests.

Hop On The Bus Workshop
2025-09-04 13:00 - 14:30
This workshop is designed to help people with and without disabilities build skills to independently and safely use PACE fixed-route public transportation. The new skills learned support participants to live and work in the community.
Presented by Search, Inc. at Progress Center’s Forest Park office, Hop on the Bus to Independence is a workshop of essential information about online resources and trip planning, using Ventra to pay for fares, accessibility and safety features, and building confidence to take public transportation.
Email dkaras@progresscil.org or call 708-209-1500 ext.118 to let us know you’ll be attending and any accommodation requests.

PACE ADA Info Session
2025-08-21 13:00 - 14:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
PACE ADA Information Session
When:
August 21
1:00pm – 2:00pm

Where:
Progress Center
7521 Madison Street, Forest Park, IL 60130

FEATURING a representative from both PACE and RTA
Join us for an overview of PACE ADA services, including Paratransit, RAP, and TAP. Learn which option is best for you.
Email dkaras@progresscil.org or call 708-209-1500 ext.118 to let us know you’ll be attending and any accommodation requests.
A Zoom option is available.

Shop-In and Membership and Outreach Meeting
2025-08-20 11:00 - 15:00
TIME CHANGE:
There has been a time change for next week’s Membership and Outreach events on the 20th. We will meet for the Shop-In at 11:00am at Good Earth Cafe. The meeting will follow from 1:00 to 3:00pm at Progress Center.

Before our monthly Membership and Outreach meeting, Progress Center is having a Shop-In. Shop-Ins are opportunities to show businesses the buying power and solidarity of the disability community. This month we are meeting at Good Earth Cafe at 7900 Madison Street, River Forest, IL 60305 at 11:00am. The M&O meeting will follow in our Forest Park office and over Zoom starting at 1:00pm this month.
Zoom link for meeting:
Membership & Outreach Committee Meeting (3rd Wed each month)
Time: Aug 20, 2025 1:00pm start
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87167413790?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 871 6741 3790
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Disability Pride Parade
2025-07-26 11:00 - 12:00
Come celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act and walk or roll with Progress Center in the downtown Disability Pride parade!

Membership and Outreach Meeting
2025-07-16 14:30 - 16:00 | 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, 7521 Madison Street Forest Park, IL 60130, Forest Park, IL, 60130, United States
Join Progress Center for our monthly M&O meeting at our Forest Park office or over Zoom.

Zoom Info:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87167413790?pwd=[REDACTED]
Meeting ID: 871 6741 3790
Passcode: [REDACTED]

Save Medicaid and Medicare – Awareness and Advocacy
2025-07-12 12:00 - 15:00 | Oak Park Main Library
Join Progress Center and our partner organization, the Alliance for Community Services, on Saturday, July 12 at the Oak Park Library (main library) from noon to 3:00pm for an event: Save Medicaid and Medicare – Awareness and Advocacy. This is right after the library’s Disability Pride Month events in the library and at adjacent Scoville Park. Progress Center will be there to celebrate and inform people about our services, issues important to the disability community, and action opportunities for the independent living movement. We hope you can come!

Annual Meeting
2025-06-21 13:00 - 15:00
PROGRESS CENTER FOR INDEPENDENT LIVING IS HOSTING ITS 37TH ANNUAL MEETING
Saturday, June 21, 2025.
12:00 pm Lunch.
1:00-3:00 pm – Program.
LOCATION: Ophelia’s Banquets
13102 S. Western Ave.
Blue Island, IL 60406
*Accessible entrance off Western Avenue
❖ Guest Speaker Dennis O‘Brien – Impact of sign language interpreter shortage
❖ Guest Speaker Mariyana T. Spyropoulos, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County
❖ Learn about the ITAC Amplified Phone and iPhone Equipment
❖ Learn about the Home Modification Grant Program
❖ Current advocacy topics
ASL interpreters and Spanish captioning provided.
RSVP (708) 209-1500 or Nkhan@progresscil.org by Friday, June 6, 2025
Accommodation requests must be submitted by Friday, June 6, 2025
*Support people with chemical sensitivity by wearing no scented products*
Progress Center serves the community of people with disabilities of all ages. Learn
from leaders in advocacy and support services.

Dynamic People Group
2025-05-27 14:00 - 16:00
The Dynamic People Group is meeting on Tuesday, May 27 from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in person in our Blue Island office and over Zoom (hybrid mode).
We will cover current advocacy issues related to various bills.
For more information or if attending, email Kim Liddell at kliddell@progresscil.org or call 708-388-5011 extension 200.
