August 19, 2001

Senator Pate Phillips
50 E Oak
Addison, IL  60101

Dear Senator Phillips:

Enclosed you will find three sets of photos of three different businesses two of which has had complaints filed against them to the Ill. Atty. Gen. Office. They are Walgreen’s and the Charter Bank. The US Post Office has not been filed against yet.

Accessibility to public buildings and businesses don’t mean open sidewalks, automatic doors and disability signs, it mean accessibility. Public buildings or businesses with open sidewalks that a disabled person can use with a wheel chair, automatic cart, walker, or cane is known as accessible. Most of these openings are with a pitch that is too difficult to use. Public buildings or businesses that don’t have automatic doors and if they do they do not have the correct censor to keep these doors open long enough to get threw.

Mr. Phillips, people with disabilities are here forever and should not be treated as second rate citizens or stop being discriminated against. This is still happening even though the ADA Accessibility law was passed ten years ago.

Progress has been made on the inside of these facilities but access to these facilities from the outside has a lot to be desired. The reason for this is people with disabilities are not part of the inspectors or part of the planning for accessibility. I don’t understand how this could happen. There is no way a person without a handicap knows what we go through everyday from the time we get up in the morning until we go to sleep at night. Will you please tell me how this oversight happened? An individual that has cancer, heart, kidney, lung, liver diseases go to the best specialists to try and cure their illness. England has formed a board of persons with disabilities and two without so they make sure their disability law is enforced correctly. Why doesn’t the US have one?

The Illinois Attorney General Office has a complaint that the ADA law has been broken they send out an inspector without a handicap. There should be an inspector without a handicap and one with a physical handicap. No matter how much a person without a disability is trained to be an inspector they are not handicapped. What is so hard about putting this into work?

I do not know if you had or have anyone in your family or know anyone with a crippling disease and what they fear. They fear they may lose their life, independence or their dignity. I have a prayer every morning, “Dear God, thank you so much I made it threw the night and now please be with me that I can make it threw this day better than anyone who does not have a disability.” I am going to make it, Mr. Phillips, even though I have MS.

The pictures enclosed even though they comply with the law they have broken the law. They have broken the ADA accessibility law. Two of these facilities were built after l993, Walgreen’s and US Post Office of Roselle. Where were the people that drew up these plans, architects. The suburban villages, that gave the go ahead with these plans. The inspectors of the villages that let them go through? Walgreen’s in Hanover Park was built after l993. The US Post Office in Roselle was built after l993. This facility not only is not handicap accessible but also does not have automatic doors. The other picture is of Charter One Bank with no sidewalk opening at all. What the law is telling me even though the ADA law was passed ten years ago we just have to comply with the law not make sure it is enforced and workable. This is our elected official’s fault because they have closed their eyes and have deaf ears to our needs and really don’t care. I have a suggestion for two weeks become a person with a physical handicap. Try an access a facility in a wheel chair or automatic cart, then a walker or cane. When you use the cane or walker make sure your left leg is braces stife. With open sidewalks, the pitch is usually to steep. Next try getting into a building without automatic doors carrying packages or mail.

I have three very simple suggestions. 1. Eliminate all raised sidewalks. 2. Raise the fines to $10000.00 and not $500.00. THIS IS FOR EVERY ONE INVOLVED. Hurting their profits is the only way the law will be enforced. Raise the fine on handicap signs from $100.00 to $500.00 or $1000.00. The sign should also read not for drivers without a disability not entering the facility. 3. Set up a board of inspectors that is made up of people with disabilities and no disabilities.

We need help and our elected officials are the only ones that can do this.

Cordially,


Rosemarie A Botthof
460 Eagle Dr    Apt. 106
Elk Grove Village, IL  60007

Cc:	Jim Ryan, Atty. General Senator Peter Fitzgerald Yolanda Treiguts, MS Society Connie Maschenic. MS Society John Forrest - Inspector Wood Dale, IL

PS: Walgreen’s of Oak Lawn had to be redone because it was not handicap accessible. We now have Walgreen’s in Hanover Park under investigation. The Illinois Attorney General Office does not know how these plans got threw and are asking to see the permits. When this store gets redone, I and a person in a wheel chair, automatic cart and walker want to be involved in redoing of this store. Who are going to investigate the rest of their stores and how much of a fine is going to be imposed? I could add another one of their stores. I just don’t have the pictures yet. My question, were they ever fined on the Oak Lawn store or just told to get it fixed. I have mentioned this to Norma of the Disability Bureau, Atty. General Office. She didn’t have an answer. Who is breaking the law now?