Access Living friends and allies,
Transportation has always been a huge issue for people with disabilities. Here in Chicagoland, we are facing serious state-level transportation funding and local reform problems. These issues could affect mainstream and paratransit systems. In other words, we need to show up for transportation advocacy right now, or else disability riders may face increased costs and fewer options for service.
July 10, Access Living Transportation Town Hall: We will host a town hall on transportation issues from 1 pm to 3:30 pm at Access Living, 115 W. Chicago Avenue, on Thursday, July 10. We have invited spokespersons from our transit agencies, like CTA, RTA and Metra. Partners like CMAP and Alderwoman Angela Clay will be present. Come learn about the upcoming fiscal challenges facing our transit system, how they will impact people with disabilities, and what you can do to help campaign for more funding, with a better system! Attendees can share their concerns in breakout sessions.
Please register for the town hall here. ASL and Spanish interpretation will be available. For further access needs, please contact Iliana Rivera Haven at 312-640-2158, or email at irhaven@accessliving.org.
Flyers: For the Access Living town hall, we have printable flyers in English and Spanish, as follows.
July 12, Riders Rise Up to Save Transit: From 12 to 2 pm on Saturday, July 12, transportation advocates will rally at Daley Plaza in Chicago (50 W. Washington). The event is led by Better Streets Chicago with support from Access Living and others. The info and registration link for the rally is here. The goal of this rally will be to call on Illinois legislators to set up a special session and work out the transit funding cliff that could lead to up to 40% reduction in transportation service. For more information, contact Laura Saltzman, Senior Policy Analyst at Access Living, lsaltzman@accessliving.org.
Please share this info with Chicago area disability transportation advocates. Join us to help the disability community make sure that WE WILL RIDE!