Access Living

Yesterday Access Living staff, alongside volunteers, participated in a community wellness day where participants were able to have mobility equipment cleaned, relax while playing games and doing crafts, and enjoy each other’s company over lunch. It was a great day for all involved!

Chicago Transit Authority is seeking feedback from disabled riders on all things accessibility! If you're interested in sharing feedback, you can do so here: https://www.research.net/r/CTAADA

Survey closes on June 5th!

2026 CTA Riders with Disabilities Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.

Access Living is proud to honor Ginger Lane with our 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. A disability rights activist, Holocaust survivor, dancer, choreographer, and cultural leader, Ginger spent 30 years at Access Living helping build and lead our arts and culture work while advancing disability justice through activism and performance.

We’re honored to celebrate her extraordinary legacy on June 18.

Learn more & purchase tickets: https://trellis.org/2026accesslivinggala

We’re excited to see you THIS THURSDAY!!!

Join Access Living and Chicago Cares for a community wellness event on May 28 from 9:30am-2:30pm! We’ll have food, games, wellness kits, mobility equipment washing, and more!

Registration is required and can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/3ayze882

Yesterday, Access Living announced settlement of the second-largest accessible affordable housing lawsuit in history. After over 8 years, the City of Chicago will now be required to build and/or retrofit 2,800 units to be accessible with a significant portion of those being affordable. This is a massive win for people with disabilities!

https://www.accessliving.org/newsroom/press-releases-and-statements/access-living-wins-civil-rights-lawsuit-against-city-of-chicago/

The Illinois Council on Developmental Disabilities (ICDD) develops a Five-Year State Plan to improve the independence, productivity, integration, and inclusion of individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) and their families across Illinois. The plan is designed to meet the requirements of the Developmental Disabilities Assistance and Bill of Rights Act (DD Act) and focus ICDD resources on systems change efforts that improve lives statewide.

To develop this draft framework, ICDD gathered input from self-advocates, families, community partners, providers, state agencies, and other leaders across Illinois. Research and the Council’s statewide systems work, combined with this community input, made clear that individuals with DD and their families continue to face barriers in self-advocacy, leadership access, employment, housing, behavioral health, service coordination, and crisis response.

Individuals and families consistently emphasized the need for stronger leadership pathways, a greater voice in shaping systems priorities, more responsive supports, and improved coordination across public systems.

The priorities reflected in the draft State Plan were further refined through the Council’s goal mapping process and organized into two major focus areas: Individual and Family Advocacy (IFA) and Systems Change (SC).

The IFA goal focuses on strengthening self-advocacy, leadership development, and lived experience so individuals with DD, families, and allies can shape cross-disability and systems change efforts. The SC goal focuses on strengthening the support systems that impact daily life, including employment, community living, behavioral health, service access, and responsiveness to emerging needs.

Public comment closes on Monday May 24th.
Learn more here:

forms.office.com

The Chicago Transit Authority is seeking feedback from disabled riders and those with disabilities who aren't able to ride transit due to accessibility challenges. The survey takes 15-20 minutes and is offered in English and Spanish. This survey will stay open through the month of May.

English Survey: https://www.research.net/r/AccessLivingCTA
Spanish Survey: https://www.research.net/r/CTAccess?&lang=es

We still have spots left for our event with Chicago Cares! Register today!

Join Access Living and Chicago Cares for a community wellness event on May 28 from 9:30am-2:30pm! We’ll have food, games, wellness kits, mobility equipment washing, and more!

Registration is required and can be found here: https://tinyurl.com/3ayze882

Join us for a Survivors of Gun Violence Forum focused on community, connection, and resources. This event brings together survivors, loved ones, and community members to learn, share, and build support.

Saturday, June 6
11am to 1pm
2229 S. Halsted St., Chicago

Register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf6yCYnqQ-djFgCmk0D14WeSoEOaXeloCPprzLeGmNXxkzZoQ/viewform

See you in Austin on Friday!