Happy Holidays from Progress Center.
Thank you for your support to make the 2019 a fabulous year. We look forward to continuing our work in 2020, offering programs and resources that equip people with disabilities to be independent in integrated, inclusive communities.
If you would like to make a year-end contribution to support our work, please visit this link. Year-End-Giving
Thank you and Happy Holidays.
Progress Center
HOW MIGHT WE…
make public transit more equitable for people with disabilities in the Chicago area?
hello! it’s nice to meet you…
We are a group of graduate students from IIT’s Institute of Design in Bronzeville. We have come to learn about the many challenges that people with disabilities face with accessing public transportation of all types in the Chicago area. We want to learn much more, though, and gain a deeper understanding of these problems directly from the people who experience them every day.
We are humbly asking for voluntary participation in our research project, which we have titled Equitable Access to Chicago Public Transit for People with Disabilities. Our goal includes developing a set of recommendations for positive change, which we hope to communicate not only to the Institute of Design, but also directly to CTA and Pace personnel.
This is a fast, seven week project that will include research, analysis, and development of recommendations. We would like to conduct 60-90 minute interviews of each participant to discuss their personal experiences accessing and utilizing modes of public transportation.
Additionally, with the participants’ consent, we would ask to “shadow” them when they are navigating to and using their most commonly used mode of public transportation. This would give us a first hand account of the challenges faced.
If you are interested, please email us jsmyk@id.iit.edu.
Signed,
Sike Liu, Mithila Kedambadi, J. Smyk, Sze Wing Alpha Wong, and Alvin Jin
Master of Design candidates at IIT Institute of Design
Join Progress Center and PACE on November 12
Join PACE Executive Director Rocky Donahue and Progress Center on November 12 for a Paratransit Town Hall Meeting. The meeting will include a presentation from PACE about new technology designed to improve service, and time for statements and questions from paratransit customers.
When: Thursday, November 12
Time: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Oak Park Library, 834 Lake Street, Oak Park, Illinois 60301
To RSVP and to secure a spot on the program for public comments, contact garnold@progresscil.org
Sign Language Interpreters and Personal Assistants will be at the event. For other accommodation requests, contact garnold@progresscil.org
Progress Center’s 2019 Liberty Gala is coming up very soon. The gala is Thursday, October 24 at 6 p.m.
As part of the Gala, Progress Center will be auctioning off two tickets to the December 5 Chicago Bears Football Game against the Dallas Cowboys. The game starts at 7:20 p.m. at Soldier Field in Chicago. The tickets are in Section 136, which is near the field at the 50-yard line. The Face Value for one ticket is $238. The opening bid for the tickets is $250. This Silent Auction is a great opportunity to catch a late season football game featuring the Monsters of the Midway, and to support Progress Center.
Though the Silent Auction is part of the 2019 Liberty Gala, Progress Center will be taking bids online leading up to the night of the Gala. Attendance at the gala in not required. Bidding is open to everyone.
To place a bid send an email with the bid amount to garnold@progresscil.org
Thank you for your support.
Progress Center for Independent Living is holding our 2019 Liberty Gala on Thursday, October 24, 2019. The celebration will be at the Elmcrest Banquet Hall in Elmwood Park, Illinois.
We invite you to join us.
For more than 30 years, Progress Center has provided people with disabilities with the tools and resources to be independent in their own communities. We invite you to be a sponsor of this event. At the Gala on October 24, we will celebrate the success and history of Progress Center. We have much to celebrate. In the past year, Progress Center has:
In addition to celebrating our own work, we will honor the work of individuals and organizations that are making a difference in the disability community.
This year, Progress Center will honor:
The Illinois Telecommunications Access Corporation
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul
Disability Rights Attorney Andres Gallegos of Robbins, Salomon & Patt, Ltd
Univision Anchor Enrique Rodriguez will serve as the Event EmCee.
Progress Center for Independent Living is part of a network of 22 Centers for Independent Living in Illinois. Founded in 1988, Progress Center is a non-profit, non-residential service and advocacy organization operated by and for people with disabilities in our service area of suburban Cook County. Progress Center is staffed by, and governed by, people with disabilities. By empowering people with disabilities to define and achieve their goals, and working together to change society, Centers for Independent Living like Progress Center help millions of people across the country.
Through the 2019 Liberty Gala, with your help, Progress Center will raise support for our current programs and develop new resources for people with disabilities today, and in the years to come.
What: The Progress Center 2019 Liberty Gala
When: Thursday, October 24, 2019
Where: The Elmcrest Banquet Hall, 7370 Grand Avenue, Elmwood Park, IL 60707
For sponsorship information, please download the attached form: 2019-Liberty Gala -Sponsorship Form
WHAT NOW?
A Transportation Workshop
Transportation is key to the independence of people with disabilities. When there are problems with your ride, the transit agency needs to learn what happened. This workshop is designed to equip participants with the resources and motivation to follow up with Paratransit Agencies and other transportation agencies when something about your ride goes wrong.
When: Thursday, August 29, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Where: Progress Center, 7521 Madison Street, Forest Park, Illinois
Presenters:
Larry Biondi, Advocacy Coordinator, Progress Center for Independent Living
Sarah Blair, Regional Transportation Authority
To RSVP and to request accommodations, contact garnold@progresscil.org or 708-209-1500 ext 14
Join us for the 31st Annual Meeting of Progress Center for Independent Living
“Together, let’s fight for our independence and for our rights.”
Power is in the Numbers! Come and Be a Part of the Action!
Be There- find out what’s new:
31st Annual Meeting of Progress Center for Independent Living
Saturday, June 22, 2019, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. (Program Starts at 1 p.m.)
Calumet Township Community Center
12633 South Ashland Avenue
Calumet City, Illinois
Bring friends, neighbors and relatives!
Accommodations: The meeting site is accessible. ASL Interpreter will be provided. Do you need handouts in other formats? Other Accommodations? Contact Clark: 708-209-1500, cclark@progresscil.org
2019 Membership and Appreciation Luncheon
Join Progress Center for lunch on May 2 as we celebrate the Annual Membership & Appreciation Luncheon.
The event is dedicated to the outstanding advocacy work of Progress Center’s dedicated members. All are encouraged to attend, and to bring family and friends. At the event, you will learn about programs and services offered by Progress Center.
What: The 2019 Membership and Outreach Appreciation Luncheon
When: Wednesday, May 22 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Where: Howard Mohr Community Center, 7640 Jackson Boulevard, Forest Park, Illinois 60130
For more information and to RSVP, contact lbiondi@progresscil.org
Town Hall Meeting – Disability and Healthcare in Illinois
Progress Center for Independent Living will host a Town Hall Meeting on Managed Care and healthcare issues impacting people with disabilities. The event will include presentations about have to navigate managed care and current issues impacting the community. This is an opportunity to gather information, learn self-advocacy tools, and share your concerns about the healthcare landscape.
When: Thursday, May 9th, 2019, 1:00 – 3:30 PM
Where: Oak Park Public Library (Main Branch), 834 W. Lake St, 2nd Floor (Veteran’s Room), Oak Park IL, 60301
For accommodation requests, questions, and more information, please contact Larry Biondi @ 708.209.1500 Ext # 24.
As an accommodation, all participants are asked not to wear scented products.
Progress Center is part of the Make Medicare Work Coalition, which also includes Age Options and Smart Policy Works.
Progress Center for Independent Living Statement in response to Governor Pritzker’s first Budget Address
(Forest Park, Illinois)– In his first budget address as Governor of Illinois, Governor Pritzker said, “….I would not balance a budget on the backs of the starving, the sick and the suffering, and I keep that promise today by beginning to rebuild health and human services.” Progress Center applauds Governor Pritzker’s intention to rebuild human services. For too long, while Illinois has been led by republicans and by democrats, the disability community has been forced to fight to maintain adequate funding and supports for community-based services. For too long, services that support the independence of people with disabilities have been subject to cuts and to misguided policy decisions. Progress Center is ready to move forward and work with an administration intent on strengthening programs that give people with disabilities the resources to pursue social, academic, and financial opportunities from their own home rather than nursing homes or other institutions.
In terms of community supports, the Home Services Program is vital. Through it, thousands of people with disabilities receive personal assistant services, who help out with day-to-day tasks that are key to independence. Under Governor Pritzker’s Department of Human Services Budget, the Home Services line is increased by $103 million, addressing “caseload growth,” and “underfunding” in fiscal year 2019.
Governor Pritzker spoke also of implementing a Fair Tax System in Illinois. Progress Center supports a Fair Tax. When implemented in Illinois, a Fair Tax could generate sustainable revenue for social services, allowing Illinois to sustain and build services, rather than putting valuable services under threat of cuts and elimination each year when the state is faced with budget deficits and gaps.
As the State of Illinois increases minimum wage, Progress Center urges Governor Pritzker, the administration, and all Illinois legislators to ensure that all workers with disabilities are included in the wage increase. Historically, under a section of the Fair Labor Standards Act, businesses have been able to pay some disabled workers sub minimum wage. This unfair practice segregates people with disabilities and prevents full inclusion and participation in their communities. Illinois needs to eliminate any opportunity for Illinois businesses to pay people with disabilities, and people from other communities, less than minimum wage.
In the context of Governor’s Pritzker’s budget, The Department of Human Services “provides a $31.3 million increase to support nearly 700 new placements for developmentally disabled individuals transitioning to less restrictive or community home settings under the Ligas consent decree.” Supporting the transition of people with disabilities from institutional settings to community-based settings is a principle core service of all Independent Living Centers, such as Progress Center, across Illinois. Progress Center hopes that Governor Pritzker, in addition to supporting the transition of people, take immediate steps to close the remaining State Operated Developmental Centers in Illinois, and maintain vigorous oversight and enforcement of what “community” means in Illinois. Without closing institutions, Illinois will continue to spend a disproportionate amount of funding on the segregated, warehousing of people with disabilities. Without vigorous oversight of groups that claim to provide “community” supports, people with disabilities are at risk of moving out of one segregated facility and into another, instead of moving into a genuine integrated, inclusive community.
Finally, the Fiscal Year 2020 Budget of Governor Pritzker also includes an increase in funding for Independent Living Centers. Progress Center is one of 22 centers in Illinois. As a network, Centers for Independent Living provide people with disabilities the opportunity learn from the experience of other disabled people, share their own experiences as disabled people, and pursue options that will equip them with the tools to be independent. As Progress Center, we are committed to our role in the effort to strengthen the disability community, strengthen the independent living network, and strengthen Illinois.
Progress Center provides services and conducts advocacy that supports the independence of people with disabilities. Progress Center serves Suburban Cook County. Progress Center is one of 22 Centers for Independent Living in Illinois. For more information, contact 708-209-1500.
