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May 2006
Wheelchair Unbound An exhibition about the fate of people with disabilities past leads to a vision for the future By Harriet McBride Johnson I'm at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, touring an exhibition: "Deadly Medicine: Creating a Master Race." Tomorrow evening I will be interviewed onstage by a museum official. In a sense, that will make me a temporary display, an object of interpretation, a body in a wheelchair, a body so pared down and twisted up by a genetic neuromuscular disability that it doesn't need a nearby Nazi to get a reaction. In another sense, I will be an interpreter, talking from experience as a disability rights lawyer and activist. The exhibit tells of a eugenics movement that sought to apply principles from Darwin and animal husbandry to humans. In Germany, it proceeded step by step from voluntary "healthy baby" campaigns to forced sterilization and the murder of some 200,000 disabled children and adults. Looking at the photos of doomed children, I see my old crowd. They could be us. In "special" schools and camps for children with physical and mental disabilities, we grew up knowing we were a category of person that the world did not want. Most of us had a story of some doctor advising our parents to put us away or to let us die. We owed our survival to parents who had irrationally bonded with us, who held old-fashioned notions of right and wrong. We knew we were lucky and hoped our luck would hold. To increase the odds, we tended to be charming. We developed thick skins. My skin is thick enough to let me wind through the exhibit without weeping, almost without trembling. I roll into the tile floor meant to resemble those in the gas chambers that the Nazis designed for the "humane" killing of disabled patients. I see a photo of a girl who was once held dear by someone who put a bow in her hair but could not protect her. Then I see the wheelchair. It's similar to other prewar wheelchairs I've seen, but there's something unusual about the frame. Is this a tilting mechanism? A fancy suspension system? Looks like fine German engineering. I like vintage wheelchairs. An obsolete Everest & Jennings drive belt hangs in my office as a bit of nostalgia, like an old wagon wheel in a barbecue shack. I have an urge to jostle the chair, to see what that frame does. The sign mentions a German institution. So, no single owner. But even in institutions, people manage to bond with chairs. A state-owned chair may be occupied by the same person every day, parked beside that person's bed at night. Maybe the chair was used by someone with a stroke until he died, and on down the line, until … until they all died? The people who used this wood-and-metal survivor probably loved it, liked to move about even as they were sucked into the nightmare. The nightmare began when the state removed them from their families, concentrated them in institutions. The same state provided them with beautifully engineered chairs and then killed them for eating up the resources of the "fit." I pull myself away and try to absorb the rest of the exhibit. It tells how the eugenics dragnet widened, of the way concentration strategies, gas-chamber technology and sterilization techniques first designed for disabled people were applied against whole populations defined as genetically undesirable. By the time I roll onto the stage the next night, I've thought a lot about there and here, then and now. When the first question comes, I tell them about my fascination with the wheelchair, and somehow it sounds funny, and laughter fills the room. We shuttle between the tragedy of Germany then to the comedy of here now, from the horror of bureaucratic killing to a funny confession that I, too, tend to stare at disabled people on the street. Before I know it, I'm giving them a real show. What has come over me? Part of it is surely the tendency to compartmentalize. But there's more. In this room, people with disabilities in thrilling variety make me feel at home. It's like the disability ghetto of my childhood, but so much better. That was a community of exclusion, created by nondisabled people who considered us unfit. This is a community of inclusion. Here people, disabled and not, are gathered by choice. I haven't forgotten that two million people remain in US disability institutions, that some disabled children still cannot attend mainstream schools, that too many of us live in poverty. But I can't hold onto anger and sorrow in this room. It is too full of life. Behind the laughs I keep getting, I feel a shared sense of possibility, a drive for a world that will embrace both the fit and the unfit and hold them so dear that the categories die. Source: The New York Times, April 23, 2006. Parents and Advocates Share Hard Lessons The March 25th Parent, Advocate and Support Group meeting was the best yet! Two representatives from non-profit parent-controlled housing development agencies joined us. They shared their experiences in creating community-based, independent-living housing arrangements for their family member with disabilities. The presenters were: Suzanne Larson from Shelters for a Healthy Environment (SHE) and Jane Doyle, PhD, from Centers for Independent Futures. Both are parents with adult children who have disabilities. Both used their difficulties and frustrations with finding safe, accessible, supported and integrated permanent housing to take action and control of quality of life issues for their family members. The results of their efforts have been homeownership for people with development and physical disabilities in single family residences, condos, and town-homes as well as supported living in rental apartments in scattered sites or congregate community settings. The best part of their presentations was their offer of hope and assistance. They shared very personal stories about personal, economic, and functional challenges. They gave practical advice about how to start and proceed with family-controlled housing development. They offered to help Chicago South Network families organizes and replicate the types of independent living arrangements they have been able to create in other communities across Illinois. For information on Project Groundfloor (homeownership, usually in the Chicago suburbs), contact Suzanne Larson at 630/879.2277, ext. 133, or 630/444.1787 to obtain information on non-profit housing developments in St. Charles, IL, and other locations. Contact Jane Doyle at 847/328.2044 for information on supported community residences, life future planning, and public benefit workshops. Source: Community Service Options newsletter, In The Know, April 2006. Non-lawyer Father Wins Education Suit; Bar is Upset By Adam Liptak Several years ago, Brian Woods sued the school board in Akron, Ohio, on behalf of his autistic son Daniel. Mr Woods wanted to make sure that Daniel received an appropriate education, and he won several concessions and about $160,000. "I soundly defeated a team of lawyers," Mr Woods, an adjunct professor at Cuyahoga Community College, said yesterday. When the Cleveland Bar Association got wind of Mr. Woods' victory recently, it also went to court - to sue Mr. Woods. The bar association said he had engaged in the unauthorized practice of law. It sought a $10,000 fine, lawyers' fees and a promise that he would not continue to assist other parents seeking to represent their own children in court. The Ohio Supreme Court was not impressed. On April 20, it ordered the bar association to produce evidence by next week in support of its complaint, saying the available facts suggest that Mr. Woods "has not engaged in the unauthorized practice of law." With that deadline looming and after reports on the controversy in The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, the bar association backed down. Sort of. In a statement on Wednesday, its president, P Kelly Tompkins, said the complaint against Mr Woods "had a legitimate, technical basis." Mr Woods did, after all, represent someone else in court - his son - without being a lawyer. The filing of the complaint was nonetheless a mistake, Mr Tompkins said, withdrawing it and apologizing to the Woods family. The association should not have considered filing the complaint, he said, until after the US Supreme Court acted in a case it might decide to hear this month. That case involves two other Ohio parents, Jeff and Sandee Winkelman. In November, the federal appeals court in Cincinnati gave the Winkelmans, who had been representing their autistic son Jacob in a suit against the Parma, Ohio, school district, 30 days to find a lawyer or have their case dismissed. Justice John Paul Stevens issued a stay of that order in December. Federal courts around the country are divided over the circumstances in which parents who are not lawyers may represent their children in federal court under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act. Ms Winkelman said the ruling of the appeals court effectively barred the courthouse doors to her son. Her family, she said, simply could not afford a lawyer. "One quoted $60,000," Ms Winkelman said. "She wanted $2,600, bi-weekly. I was in tears. I decided to go on my own. We had no money, and we had nowhere to send Jacob to school. When you're in a do-or-die situation, you do what you have to do." Christina H Peer, a lawyer for the Parma district, said there were good reasons for requiring that only lawyers might handle such cases. "People who are not attorneys cannot represent the interests of another in a court of law," Ms Peer said. Where disabled minors are involved, she added, courts should be even more reluctant to let others, even parents, speak on the minors' behalf. "Do they have the skills," Ms Peer asked, "to adequately represent the rights of their children?" A lawyer for Susan Woods, Daniel's mother, said he was furious that the bar association had pursued charges of unauthorized practice of laws against her and her husband. "I'm very angry about it," the lawyer, Allan M Michelson, said. "I'm upset that my fellow attorneys should spend their time like this." In an interview, Mr Tompkins of the bar association sounded conciliatory. "Our board had not approved this filing," he said. "We had a breakdown internally on this." But he refused to rule out the possibility of further action after the Supreme Court acted in the Winkelman case. Source: The New York Times, 5/6/06 A New Home Are you considering a new home? If so, you will want a home where you can still live comfortably when you are pushing 85 and likely to be physically less able. For example, a house with 36-inch wide doorways will be much easier to negotiate in a wheelchair. Once inside you want to be able to shut the door. If you can't turn around because the area by the door is too small, you will have to reach around behind you, slam the door, back up a bit and then struggle to turn a deadbolt. Consider having strategically placed areas that are large enough for a wheelchair to turn around (a five foot diameter circle), and 48-inch wide hallways will make navigating in a wheelchair immeasurably easier. One solution to the openings of the hallway problem is a "lobby" or the "cul-de-sac" -the 48-inch wide hallway ends in a larger 7 by 7 foot space so that all the doors open off of it. That way the wheelchair user can turn 360 degrees and aim for any doorway. Bedrooms need a five-foot clearance on at least one side of the bed so that you can easily transfer to it from your wheelchair. Access to your clothes is also important. If you have walk-in closets, you need the 36-inch doorway and at least a 30-inch clearance down the middle. You also need space on the far end to turn the wheelchair around. If you are considering shallow-access closets, you'll need doors that swing outward. All bathrooms should have a 5-foot turn area so that you can transfer easily and have privacy. Incorporate these amenities when building; some are impossible to add or change later. Source: Daily Herald, 1/06. Mad as Hell and Not Going to Take it Any More 104 Arrested in the US Capitol Medicaid cuts, cuts in subsidized housing, threats to Social Security, health care, attendant services, you name it, these threats created frustration and anger - driving forces as ADAPT headed to the Capitol this fall. Congress was out to slash and burn. It seemed the House and Senate and Bush administration, for that matter, had declared open season on low income folks with disabilities. ADAPT was determined to send a message that we weren't going quietly and people had better wake up and take notice of what was going down. As if the storm in Congress were not enough, Katrina had just slammed into the Gulf Coast, laying bare the stark reality of poverty and disability in America. Also laid bare was the sad state of our nation's "safety net" even before the destructive cuts of Congress began. A House call for Sen. Frist: What's up, Doc? Day one, Sunday, we set out in the afternoon on a 5 mile march to Senate Majority Leader Frist's house. Five miles up hill and across town we came to the quaint little lane and the castle Senator Frist calls home, complete with TN flag dancing by the door. With over 400 of us in tow, we filled this little ivy covered way. Signs declared the place was monitored by private security, but they did little when ADAPT came calling. The police tried to get Frist to come out and talk. While we waited for the Senator to come out, we set up a stockade and targeted volunteer Frist stand-ins with red paint filled sponges. The crowd canted and called for the Senator to quit hiding, but Frist and family hid behind their iron gates and fence, neighbors peered out of their windows in amazement. Some even came out to talk with us. However, Frist refused to come out and discuss the damaging cuts he was championing and the quandary of people with disabilities after Katrina. With a 5 mile return march and a long week of actions ahead, we headed back, confident we had caught his attention. Earlier in the day ADAPT had introduced another first, a youth workshop, planned to encourage younger folks who were joining us to think of how and why ADAPT does what we do, and to encourage them to get more involved in the fight for disability rights. This will not be our last such effort and those who participated spoke highly of it. No One home Sunday? Let's try the Office Monday Frist may be a ring-leader, but he's not working alone! Both houses of Congress seemed bent on drastically harming our folks and other low income people with disabilities, and we wanted Congress to know that folks were fed up to the gills with their threats and attacks. Each of our six color teams was assigned an office of one of the leaders of Congress: Frist, Reid, Grassley, and Baucus on the Senate side; and Barton, Pelosi, Delay, and Hastert on the House side. The point was to show the level of frustration Congress was creating with their attacks or limp support of people. MiCASSA, Money Follows the Person and Katrina aid for people with disabilities were all on the table and we wanted real commitments or we would not leave. We filled their offices and spilled over into the halls as hundreds and hundreds of us demanded better from our government. Frist's staff said they would take our message but we were not interested in being put off, that was not good enough. Grassley's staff tried to negotiate, but how could we negotiate fundamental cuts and issues they had avoided for over a decade? They were not really offering solutions, just pacifiers. They claimed he was a big supporter, but he has NEVER signed on to either MiCASSA or Money Follows the Person. Joe Barton and then Delay were the first to arrest (big surprise there), while Grassley was the last. Each side took the arrestees to a separate holding area, one for the House, one for the Senate. (We heard later the Senate holding area was the Roberts confirmation hearing room.) The holding areas were freezing! Back at the hotel those who were not arrested waited for our brothers and sisters to return. Around midnight we ordered pizza for 100 people - so the arrestees would have something to eat when they returned - but it took a while to be believed by the pizza place. In all 104 people were arrested many of them new people, and the last ones did not get down processing until 7 AM the next day. That did not stop ADAPT's crack troops. Disability and Katrina: Don't leave our folks behind again Tuesday morning we wanted to shed light on an issue that seemed obvious to us but had received little media attention: the hurricane Katrina's impact on people with disabilities in the Gulf area. Folks had been left behind. Some had been killed by the storm and some even by "caregivers," while others had been stripped of their supports, forced into nursing homes and segregated shelters. But the biggest issue now from ADAPT's perspective was those who now were looking for support and seemed to have become invisible to the assisters. ADAPT was staying right next to FEMA headquarters, and we held a press conference to call for a better level of assistance for our brothers and sisters from the Gulf. People spoke of their experiences trying to help, of the efforts being made by the disability community, about needs we had identified, even at that early time. Representatives from AL, MS and LA were hooked up by speaker phone and told of their experiences and understanding of the situation in their states. Almost no media showed up, but FEMA had people there listening. That same morning HHS was holding a "listening session" on the issues of people with disabilities affected by Katrina. ADAPT was only a few blocks away and so we headed over to share our information with the HHS officials. Unfortunately HHS does not like to have over 400 members of ADAPT come inside at one time. Was it coincidence that they finished their "listening session" early? Who can say, but we were determined not to be silenced. So ADAPT held an impromptu session of our own out front. Cassie James served as master of ceremonies, sharing stories and advice. Jose Lara sang a beautiful ballad in Spanish and others shared their stories and views on HHS's open arms policy. They had a line of security walling us outside their building, but instead of keeping us out, they had to listen to the disability perspective on the response to the hurricane. HUD Accountability? But that was not enough for ADAPT for that day, so in the afternoon, we headed to the other problem creator, HUD! HUD was cutting many programs for affordable housing, tearing down buildings and cutting back on vouchers that help pay rent. They had abandoned Project Access (the program to help folks get housing so they could get out of nursing homes) after screwing it up for many years. They too were doing little to nothing for Katrina survivors with disabilities who needed access. We took over the huge plaza in front of their Department and wrote messages to bureaucrats in chalk. We built an accessible house to show how it COULD be done and chanted and called for a meeting with Secretary Alphonso Jackson. But we also had a secret weapon. We had been outside HUD before and knew how they like to ignore even mass demonstrations. Sec. Jackson had ignored a letter requesting a meeting that we had sent earlier. So a delegation of 52 people headed off to Sec. Jackson's home in the 'burbs, shuttling in vans and buses. Jackson and his minions were doing nothing to protect our housing so we felt taking it to his home was only appropriate. Within minutes of our arrival at his home, though the police barred our entrance to his street, Sec. Jackson appeared out on the plaza in front of his office, willing and able to meet - or so he said. A small group from our leadership team met with the Secretary and he committed to meeting with ADAPT in the future to discuss our concerns. We would only learn later that Sec. Jackson's word was not worth much of anything - as he has completely reneged on his commitment to meet. With States' Rights come States' Responsibilities Our last day we had one more symbolic message to deliver. Wednesday morning we marched out again, heading for the National Governor's Association. The NGA, while passing a milk toast version of our resolution, remains a major player in long term care policy and their members' decisions imprison many people in nursing homes even as most of their rhetoric gets better. So we marched to their offices with a coffin, flowers and Free Our People wooden coins. There we held a ceremony honoring those who had died in nursing homes. When the police were called, we got them to bring down NGA Executive Director Ray Scheppach who was accompanied by some of his staff. He agreed to arrange a meeting to discuss our demands and implementation of Money Following the Person at the state level. "This really is a matter of our life and death," said Randy Alexander, TN ADAPT organizer. "A few months ago, TN Gov. Bredesen drastically cut back TennCare, including home care services for people who use ventilators. He openly admitted that he was forcing these people into nursing homes. Just today we got word that we have suffered the first death of a ventilator user, the first casualty of Gov. Bredesen's heartless cuts. Unless Congress acts, the deaths will continue." Action filled days had brought our message to the corridors of power. Though the skeptics among us wondered what those in control might do with that message, we agreed that at least our voice was heard and we were not just letting these attacks slide by unnoticed. Source: Incitement, A Publication of ADAPT, Winter/Spring 2006 Documenting the Institutional Bias in our Long Term Care System: Real People-Real Voices. No More Stolen Lives Statistics mask the real cost of our long term care crisis in this nation. Lots of talk has gone on about this issue, and some movement, but every day more is lost in the lives of individuals who want out. Individuals who want out, but cannot get out because of the institutional bias. On Sunday, March 19, 2006 ADAPT will host a hearing on the real effects of the institutional bias in long term care services and supports. A nationally acclaimed panel with representatives from the National Council on Disability (NCD, the federal agency overseeing disability policy), National Disability Rights Network (NDRN, formerly NAPAS, National Association of state legal Protection and Advocacy agencies), the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD, a national cross disability advocacy group), and the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL, the national association of Centers for Independent Living) will receive the testimony. In addition, a representative of the US Dept. of Health and Human Services (which oversees Medicaid and more) has been invited to be on the panel as well. These agencies represented on the panel are major players in representing this crisis at our nation's capitol. We are inviting people from across the US who have been in or are currently in a nursing home, developmental disability facility, residential hospital facility, mental health facility, or other institutions to testify to a panel on how they managed to get out, the cost to their lives, and how their lives have changed now that they are out. We hope you can join us, or help someone who has a personal story to join us. Each individual will briefly describe what life was/is like in an institution, how they managed to leave or why they want to leave, and what it is like living in the community. ADAPT plans to document this event and the stories revealed here through recording and transcribing the testimonies, as well as filming and photographing the proceedings. These testimonies will be developed into a report for use at the federal/state levels, as well as a short documentary and photographic exhibit. For information, contact The ADAPT Community, 512/442.0252, adapt@adapt.org. [NOTE: CDR Reports is providing this information for anyone wanting to understand what ADAPT is doing and how they collect testimony. If you are interested in the issue of long term care, please contact ADAPT!] Deaf-Theater Troupes Reel from Federal Cuts By Alison Leigh Cowan Several deaf-theater groups are struggling to stay afloat after the federal government mysteriously cut funds for cultural programs for the deaf around the country 16 months ago. Officials at the Dept. of Education, which administered the program that distributed some $2 million a year in grants, said they did not see the change coming and did not know who in Congress had ordered the cut in December 2004. "All we know is that we no longer have the authority" to award those grants, said Lou Danielson, the research director for the Office of Special Education Programs. Congressional aids in the offices of Senators Christopher J Dodd on Connecticut and Tom Harkin of Iowa, both Democrats who have been trying to reinstate the funds, said they had no idea who pulled the plug or why. The program was part of landmark legislation that promised people with disabilities equal educational opportunities. But without the grants, the affected organizations, which produce theatrical fare seen in schools, libraries and other public places throughout the country, are worried about staying solvent. The National Theater of the Deaf, based in West Hartford, Conn., the group that many credit with pioneering the field, had been getting $687,000 a year from Washington until the last of its federal grants ran out in mid-2005. Since 1967, it has been producing shows that feature deaf and hearing actors who communicate in a combination of American Sign Language and spoken English. The company estimates that its shows have been seen by 3.5 million people throughout the world. Now the theater has gone two years without conducting its summer training academy for deaf and hard-of-hearing actors. … In North Hollywood, CA, the Deaf West Theater Company, which won critical acclaim for its adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical "Big River, which went to Broadway in 2003, is having to make do without the $800,000 a year that Washington was sending its way. … Patricia Scherer, founder of the International Center on Deafness and the Arts in Northbrook, IL, credits her 32-year-old program with nurturing the aspirations of people like Marlee Matlin, a former drama student in her programs who went on to win an Academy Award for best actress in 1986. The $100,000 in federal grants that the center received in fiscal 2001, 2002 and again in 2003 for theatrical projects made up one-fifth of its total budget. Commenting on Congress' decision to cut programs for the deaf, she said she could only surmise that deaf people had suffered "because they can't scream loud enough" and could not swing elections. Invited to a reception at the White House last June, on the day he was to perform the part of Mark Twain in a segment from "Big River," Mr Bill O'Brien [managing director of Deaf West] took Secretary Spellings aside to make his well-rehearsed pitch. He said he let her know that the production would never have had the chance to go to Broadway or on tour without the $4 million over all that Deaf West had received from the very program that Washington was dismantling. "She told me to keep her posted," he said. When asked recently whether Secretary Spellings planned to involve herself in this matter, her spokesman, Jim Bradshaw, said, "We defer to Congress' judgment on this one." Source: The New York Times, 4/12/06 Lay Advocate in Special Education If you have a child with a disability, you may decide to hire a lay advocate to assist you in ensuring that your child's educational needs are met. These advocates, who are not attorneys, may be able to assist with consultation, letter writing, or meetings with schools.
Source: Ablegram, March 2006, of the Schaumburg Township Disability Services Office. Training for Parent Leaders Do you want to inform parents about their rights under special education laws? Do you want to help parents participate effectively in their child's IEP meeting and other special education meetings? Do you want to teach parents how to become effective advocates? Do you want to provide special education rights training to your own parent or community group as a volunteer trainer? The Family Resource Center on Disabilities parent to parent training program will provide advanced-level training in 1) advocacy and negotiation, and one to one assistance on June 10; and 2) outreach and publicity, and training and communication on June 17. These training sessions are on Saturdays from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm at the FRCD offices at 20 East Jackson, Room 300. There is a $10 fee that includes lunch on both days. Participants who complete the training will receive free of charge materials on the new IDEA Rules, How to Organize an Effective Parent Group and Move Bureaucracies and How to Get Services by Being Assertive (both published by FRCD), and The Road To Work (published by PACER Center), along with other valuable materials. To participate in this workshop series, you should have a basic knowledge of special education and be willing to be a volunteer trainer for at least one special education rights training seminar for other parents in your community or at FRCD. Space is limited. Advance registration is requested for this workshop series. To register, send the $10 fee along with your contact information (name, phones, address with zip) to FRCD at 20 E Jackson, Room 300, Chicago IL 60604. Free Education Rights Seminars Parents, you can get the help you need at free weekly training seminars on special education rights on Saturday mornings from 10 to 1 PM; on first Tuesdays of each month from 10 to 1 PM, and in Spanish only on the second Wednesdays of each month from 10 to 1 PM. Call to pre-register; some holidays and special conferences may cancel regular seminars. You will get:
Community Paint-a-Thon Who qualifies for a house painting? Homeowners who are financially disadvantaged and physically unable to paint the outside of their homes. The single-family homes must be owner-occupied and in sufficient condition that scraping and spot priming are the only preparations needed. The home must be in Schaumburg. For more information and an application, call 847/884. 0030, ext. 2025. The deadline for the application is July 1, 2006. Source: Schaumburg Township Disability Services Office, Ablegram, March 2006. Access to Independence The IL Department of Human Services, in cooperation with numerous state agencies and councils, will sponsor an event to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act on July 20, 2006 from 10 am to 3 pm at the Thompson Center in Chicago at 100 W Randolph. Features will include an art exhibit featuring nearly 200 visual and literary works by children and adults with disabilities; informational workshops on assistive technology, arts, employment and ADA issues with simultaneous telephone connection downstate; three-on-three wheelchair basketball tournament, supported in part by the Northeast DuPage Special Recreation Association; an ADA Help Table; exhibits from a variety of federal, state and local organizations; and entertainment provided by performers with disabilities. The entire event is free and accessible. For more information, call 312/793.0034, tty 312/793.3597. 2030 Regional Transportation Plan Over the course of the next two months T Y Lin International and the Center for Neighborhood Technology under a contract with the Regional Planning Board will be conducting a series of seven public meetings throughout northeastern Illinois designed to give the public an opportunity to comment on the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan Update. An innovative tool called Transopoly (SM) will be used to make the process fun and easy for every person to give comment. A short survey will ask questions about one's perception of transportation conditions and issues. CDR Reports will be providing information for the seven public meetings through our website publication. Our website will also provide a link to an on-line survey. The 2030 Regional Transportation Plan is now under the auspices of the newly established Regional Planning Board, which was created to consolidate transportation planning and land use planning in northeastern Illinois. The jurisdiction for regional planning includes Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will Counties, and portions of Grundy County. The 2030 Regional Transportation Plan guides long-term transportation decision and investments and specifies major capital investment projects. For more information, see www.sp2030.com, www.catsmpo.com, www.nipc.org, and www.rpbchicago.org. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
