When the world feels heavy—as it often can these days—it’s more important than ever to celebrate when progress is made. Check out four recent good news moments to celebrate from Chicago’s disability community.
New Protections Established by Senior Bill of Rights
After years of advocacy, October saw a big win for the more than half a million Chicagoans over age 60 as Mayor Johnson signed an executive order known as the Senior Bill of Rights.
The new Senior Bill of Rights states that seniors have a right to safe, sanitary and accessible housing, and should receive information about city programs and services in an accessible way. It also affirms older Chicagoans’ right to organize for fair housing without retaliation. In addition, the executive order establishes a Mayor’s Office of Aging (MOA) as well as a working group to explore re-establishing a full-fledged city Department of Aging.
Access Living’s Disability Rights Action Coalition for Housing (DRACH) group was proud to support Kenwood Oakland Community Organization on this campaign, alongside People Matter and Northside Action for Justice. We want to thank Alderwoman Jeannette Taylor (20th) who first introduced the Senior Bill of Rights as an ordinance last year and was instrumental in garnering support for the measure from the Mayor’s office.
Read more about the new protections from the Sun-Times.
Emergency Mental Health Hours Expanded
Chicago’s Crisis Assistance Response and Engagement program (CARE), which dispatches mental health professionals to related 911 calls, recently announced expanded hours. Chicagoans facing mental health crises will now be able to request non-police services weekdays from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm. Access Living has been a core supporter of this program.
Right: Candace pictured with fellow mental health advocates and organizers
Teams dispatched by the CARE program provide on-site mental health assessments and basic medical care, as well as connecting people to ongoing resources in the community. According to a report from Borderless, CARE dispatches have increased more than 50% since the program was expanded to all 22 city police districts this spring, and over 2,600 Chicagoans utilized the program overall.
Learn more about the program from Block Club and Borderless Magazine.
CPS Families Face Special Education Gaps
A recent piece from The VP Chicago explores the challenges faced by parents of disabled students in Chicago Public Schools (CPS). The article focuses on the experience of one family from the far south Hegewisch neighborhood whose kindergartner has already attended three schools in an attempt to get the services he needs.
In the story, Access Living Senior Policy Analyst Frank Lally shared that parents often must reach out to multiple levels of staff and administrators when their child is struggling—from special ed teachers to case managers, even members of the school board. He stresses that real solutions would require a system with less complexity so that parents don’t have to rely on advocates or connections to get their students the support they need. Chicago’s newly elected school board members need to ensure that students with disabilities can get real supports.
Smart Streets Expansion
Also in October, the Chicago City Council unanimously approved the expansion of the Smart Streets program, which uses cameras on city vehicles to ticket drivers who block bus and bike lanes. After launching as a pilot program in 2024 in centrally-located neighborhoods, Smart Streets will expand throughout Chicago over the next two years. Drivers who are observed blocking bus and bike lanes will receive a warning for the first offense and be ticketed for subsequent violations. This is also important for keeping lanes of travel clear for people with disabilities.
According to Block Club Chicago, of the 140,000 citations the program has produced over the past two years, more than 80% of drivers who got a warning have not received additional violations.
Read more from Block Club and Active Transportation Alliance.
If any of these stories stood out to you, we encourage you to share this post and spread the disability joy!