2019 Resolutions

The official policies of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois are established every year with annual resolutions adopted at the state convention.

The resolutions committee meets early during the convention. Each proposed resolution is read, spoken for by the authoring member, considered, and then ultimately withdrawn or recommended for passage or disapproval by the Convention.

Resolution 2019-01: Commending Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University and the Illinois Association of Education and Rehabilitation of the Blind and Visually Impaired for Advocating to maintain proficiency requirements in braille for teachers of the visually impaired

Whereas, Throughout the history of education of blind children, braille has continued to be the key to literacy just as print has enabled literacy with sighted students; And

Whereas, Braille continues to enable blind children to learn such essential skills as spelling, grammar, mathematics, and sentence structure; and

Whereas, the acquisition of braille reading and writing skills improves the chances for economic self-sufficiency as demonstrated by the fact that 85% of all working blind people use braille while only 30% of the blind are employed full-time; and

Whereas, despite this correlation between braille and employability, less than 10% of blind children are taught Braille; and

Whereas, there is an increasing shortage of teachers of the visually impaired in Illinoi; and

Whereas, an amendment to House Bill 423, introduced March 25, 2019, a bill meant to reform education in Illinois was introduced in attempted to address the special education teacher shortage by eliminating testing requirements in order to obtain a license to teach in Illinois, substituting the provision with one which stated that in order to teach, one must obtain a grade of C in his/her student teaching practicum; and

Whereas, this provision eliminated the need for newly trained teachers of the visually impaired to demonstrate proficiency in the reading and writing of braille; and

Whereas, newly trained teachers of the visually impaired would likely not be able to teach braille, since there would be no need for them to ever demonstrate proficiency when obtaining a license; and

Whereas, Many entities including the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois, the Illinois Association of Education and Rehabilitation, Illinois State University, Northern Illinois University, teachers of the visually impaired, paraprofessionals and parents came together to oppose a weakened standard for future teachers of the visually impaired; and

Whereas, Amendment 5 of HB-423 restored testing requirements for certain groups of teachers to obtain a license to teach, including teachers of the visually impaired; now, therefore,

Be it Resolved by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in convention assembled this 20th day of October in the city of Springfield, Illinois, that this organization commend the Illinois Association of Education and Rehabilitation, the training programs for teachers of the visually impaired of Illinois State University and Northern Illinois University for vigorously opposing any weakening of requirements for future teachers of the visually impaired.

Resolution 2019-02: Regarding the Proliferation of Dockless Electric Scooters

WHEREAS, dockless electric scooters are a new form of transportation that has become increasingly popular in the United States; and

WHEREAS, the appeal of these scooters is that they may be retrieved from and left anywhere because they do not need to be parked at a docking station or rack; and

WHEREAS, as a result, users are leaving these scooters in locations that block curb cuts, obstruct sidewalks, block bus stops and stoops, and generally disrupt the flow of pedestrian traffic; and

WHEREAS, users further endanger pedestrian traffic by riding these scooters on sidewalks and other pedestrian rights-of-way; and

WHEREAS, these scooters are virtually silent when in use, making it impossible for those using nonvisual means of travel to detect them; and

WHEREAS, the public is encouraged to contact the various scooter companies directly to report scooter misuse, request that a scooter be moved, or report an injury or other concern by calling the company, visiting the website, or making a report using the app; and

WHEREAS, the blind cannot identify the scooter companies names, phone numbers, or websites because the information on the scooter is available only in print; and

WHEREAS, blind people are further denied the opportunity to make reports or issue complaints, since scooter websites and apps are generally not accessible via access technology; and

WHEREAS, few laws in the United States regulate the use of these scooters, and laws that do exist are inconsistent from city to city; and

WHEREAS, Chicago has just completed a four-month pilot project in a large area of the city, inviting people to use these dockless scooters; and

WHEREAS, The Mayors Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) has served as a liaison between the City of Chicago and the blind community; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in Convention assembled this twentieth day of October, 2019, in the City of Springfield, Illinois, that this organization urge the Illinois Department of Transportation, the Illinois General Assembly, the Chicago City Council, and other regional and local governments to work with the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois to enact laws regulating scooter use to control parking, prohibit riding on sidewalks, and generally avoid disrupting the flow of pedestrian traffic; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Organization call upon MOPD and other city agencies to continue consulting with the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois regarding dockless electric scooters; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization demand that all dockless electric scooter companies place their company name, scooter identification number, and contact information on each scooter in a format accessible and easily detectible by the blind and that these companies develop accessible websites and mobile applications so that blind pedestrians can easily communicate reports of misuse or injury; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization call upon the Illinois Congressional Delegation to enact legislation establishing a minimum sound standard for dockless electric scooters.

Resolution 2019-03: Regarding Accessible Pedestrian Signals

WHEREAS, The Accessible Pedestrian Signal (APS) contain features designed to inform blind and visually impaired pedestrians when to wait and when to cross a street; and

WHEREAS, these features include: locator tones, arrow keys to orient the pedestrian and to start announcements; and

WHEREAS, The City of Chicago has begun a process to select intersections at which to install such signals; and

WHEREAS, The Mayors Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) has served as a liaison between the City of Chicago and the blind community; and

WHEREAS, The Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) is administering this project; and

WHEREAS, CDOT proposes to install these devices at signalized intersections; and

WHEREAS, Intersection criteria include: Roadway configuration, signalization, distance from transit facilities, distance to programs for visually impaired people, distance to city public programs, and distance to other major pedestrian attractions; and

WHEREAS, Crosswalk criteria include: Crossing distance, skewed crosswalk, and vehicle turning movements; and

WHEREAS, the locations were prioritized by environment (central business district, institutional, residential or commercial, six-legged intersection, university campus, and stakeholder suggestion); and

WHEREAS, the locations were separated into three different tiers. Tier 1 Includes 25 locations that will have APS installed based on priority. Tier 2 Includes 25 locations that will likely have APS installed based on priority. Tier 3 Includes 15 locations that will have APS installed based on available project funding; and

WHEREAS, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has primary responsibility for roads statewide, outside incorporated areas; now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in Convention Assembled, this Twentieth Day of October, 2019, in the City of Springfield, Illinois, that this Organization call upon MOPD and other city agencies to continue consulting with the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois on the Accessible Pedestrian Signal project; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Organization call upon IDOT, along with county, township and municipal highway departments throughout the state, to implement procedures, similar to that of Chicago, regarding Accessible Pedestrian Signals.

Resolution 2019-04: Commending Congressman Jesus Garcia for Support of the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act

WHEREAS, since its founding in 1940, the National Federation of the Blind has strived to improve the quality of life for those who are blind through a variety of programs and initiatives; and

WHEREAS, one significant way to improve the quality of life for those who are blind is to introduce legislative initiatives in a variety of areas including education, social security reform, employment initiatives and development of technology; and

WHEREAS, in his first term, one member of Congress from Illinois has supported legislation meant to improve employment conditions and guarantee all blind workers a salary equal to the federal minimum wage; and

whereas, this representative has cosponsored legislation addressing the phase out of section 14c of the Fair Labor Standards Act; and

WHEREAS, this representative is currently a cosponsor of HR873 the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in convention assembled this 20th day of October in the city of Springfield, Illinois, that this organization commend Representative Jesus Garcia for his support of the Transformation to Competitive Employment Act, proposed by the National Federation of the Blind.

Resolution 2019-05: Commending Congressman Jesus Garcia for Support of the Access Technology Affordability Act

WHEREAS, since its founding in 1940, the National Federation of the Blind has strived to improve the quality of life for those who are blind through a variety of programs and initiatives; and

WHEREAS, one significant way to improve the quality of life for those who are blind is to introduce legislative initiatives in a variety of areas including education, social security reform, employment initiatives and development of technology; and

WHEREAS, in his first term, one member of Congress from Illinois has supported legislation meant to improve financial stability and personal independence for blind people; and

whereas,this representative has cosponsored legislation addressing the lack of affordable access technology; and

WHEREAS, this representative is currently a cosponsor of HR 2086 the Access Technology Affordabilyty Act: Now, therefore

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in convention assembled this 20th day of October in the city of Springfield, Illinois, that this organization commend Representative Jesus Garcia for his support of the Access Technology Affordability Act, proposed by the National Federation of the Blind.