ADA 25 Chicago
Moving the needle, Chicago style!
People with disabilities are our parents, children, coworkers, attorneys, doctors, teachers and our public officials. ADA 25 Chicago commemorated the 25th anniversary of the ADA in 2015 by leveraging this historic milestone to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities through building public awareness, as well as partner commitments in four key areas: EDUCATION, EMPLOYMENT, COMMUNITY INCLUSION and TECHNOLOGY.
ADA 25 Chicago includes educational, cultural, arts, sports and recreation events that were sponsored by program partners, from organizations in the four key areas creating a lasting legacy throughout the Chicago region for people with disabilities.
The Chicago Community Trust was the lead supporter of ADA 25 Chicago and assembled Honorary and Steering Committees to lead the initiative with the region's leading civic, business, cultural, educational, community and disability rights organizations.
Twenty-five years of expanding civil rights
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law July 26, 1990 by President George H. W. Bush who proclaimed, "let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down."
Chicago has been a long-term leader in disability rights with a robust community of actively engaged disability advocacy leaders and groups. The ADA ensures that people with disabilities have equal rights to pursue personal, educational and professional ambitions and to participate fully in public life. Thanks to the ADA, public transportation, public spaces and communications are now more accessible than ever.
Despite progress over 25 years, people with disabilities still have higher poverty rates, lower employment and educational outcomes than those without disabilities. The promise of full participation and economic self-sufficiency is unfulfilled.
In 2015, Metropolitan Chicago celebrated the 25th anniversary of this milestone civil rights legislation by coming together and finding opportunities to make the Chicago region the most inclusive in the nation.
To learn more about the ADA visit: Great Lakes ADA Center
Steering Committee
Co-Chairs
Marca Bristo, President and CEO, Access Living
Steve Pemberton, Vice-President and Global Chief Diversity Officer, Walgreens Boots Alliance
Members
Michelle T. Boone, Commissioner, City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events
Jack Catlin, Partner, LCM Architects
Donald A. Cooke, Senior Vice President, Philanthropy, Robert R. McCormick Foundation
Kareem Dale, Director and Senior Counsel, Discover Financial Services
Wendy L. DuBoe, President and CEO, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago
Anne Edmunds, Regional Vice President, ManpowerGroup
Horacio Esparza, Executive Director, Progress Center for Independent Living
Thea Flaum, President, Hill Foundation, FacingDisability.com
Bob Gallo, IL State Director, AARP
Tatiana Gant, Executive Director, Illinois Arts Council Agency
Rey Gonzalez, President and CEO, El Valor
Mark Ishaug, CEO, Thresholds
Robin Jones, MPA, COTA/L, ROH, Director, Great Lakes ADA Center
Rasmus Lynnerup, Executive Vice Chancellor & Chief Strategy Officer, City Colleges of Chicago
Terry Mazany, President and CEO, The Chicago Community Trust
Theresa E. Mintle, President and CEO, Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce
Rev. Joseph Mulcrone, Director, Catholic Office of the Deaf, Archdiocese of Chicago
Zena Naiditch, President and CEO, Equip for Equality
Tony Paulauski, Executive Director, The Arc of Illinois
Jorge Perez Izquierdo, Executive Vice President, Professional Diversity Network
Elliot Roth, MD, Medical Director, Patient Recovery, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Kathy Ryg, Former State Representative, State of Illinois
Carrie Sandahl, Ph.D., Director of Bodies of Work, Disability and Human Development, UIC
Erin Smith, ADA Task Force, Metropolitan Mayors Caucus
Kris Smith, Director, IL Division of Rehabilitation Services
Sidney T. Smith, Director, Brand Integrity, Baxalta
Melissa Stockwell, Paralympian, and CoFounder, Dare2tri
Karen Tamley, Commissioner, Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities
Lisa Thornton, MD, Medical Director of Pediatric and Adolescent Rehabilitation for KidsRehab, Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital and LaRabida Children’s Hospital
Eric Weinheimer, President and CEO, Donors Forum
Bernie Wong, President and CEO, Chinese American Service League
Kathleen Yosko, President and CEO, Marianjoy Rehabilitation Hospital
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Honorary leadership council
Co-Chairs
Dick Durbin, United States Senator
Mark Kirk, United States Senator
Tammy Duckworth, United States House of Representatives
Rahm Emanuel, Mayor, City of Chicago
Lisa Madigan, Illinois Attorney General
Anne Burke, Justice, Illinois Supreme Court
Toni Preckwinkle, President, Cook County Board
Jack Catlin, Partner, LCM Architects
King Harris, Chairman, Harris Holdings, Inc. and President, Harris Family Foundation
Glenn Tilton, Retired Chairman, United Continental Holdings, Inc.
Members
Martin Castro, President and CEO, Castro Synergies, and Chair, US Civil Rights Commission
Chris Crane, President and CEO, Exelon Corporation
Deborah DeHaas, Chief Inclusion Officer and National Managing Partner, Center for Corporate Governance, Deloitte, LLP
Shawn M. Donnelley, Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation
Larry Goodman, MD, CEO, Rush University Medical Center
David Hiller, President and CEO, Robert R. McCormick Foundation
Jeffrey Joerres, Executive Chairman, ManpowerGroup
Martin Koldyke, Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Golden Apple Foundation and AUSL
Terry Mazany, President and CEO, The Chicago Community Trust
Rick Osterloh, President & COO, Motorola Mobility
Desiree Rogers, CEO, Johnson Publishing Company