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صفحه اصلی / آلبومها / Chicago, Fall 2007 25
The Fall 2007 action in Chicago hit some of the key players in maintaining the institutional bias in long term services and supports. HUD Secretary Jackson reneged on his promise to meet with ADAPT and return vouchers meant to help people with disabilities from getting out of institutions which were given out willy-nilly instead. ADAPT then took the issue to American Medical Association to call on doctors to take responsibility for their role in institutionalizing people with disabilities. Next it was another visit to the Thompson Center State Building to gain a commitment from Governor Blagojevich to get people out of nursing homes. Last but not least ADAPT went to AFSCME to push them to stop valuing their jobs over people's lives, and support the Community Choice Act.
- ADAPT (1695)
[Headline] Disabled's 2nd blockade shuts Thompson Center By Mary Owen Tribune staff reporter A group of disabled protesters staged a blockade within the State of Illinois office building in the Loop for more than five hours Tuesday while their leaders and state officials negotiated issues of concern to the dis-abled. About 3 p.m., approximately 200 protesters from the advocacy group ADAPT blocked the three main entrances and exits at the Thompson Center, wedging their wheelchairs into revolving doors. Earlier, they blocked escalators in the build-ing and turnstiles and vending machines at the Clark/Lake Chicago Transit Authority station in the center. Several state employees trapped inside the center looked over balconies to watch the protest. Meanwhile, people outside couldn't get in to shop, eat at the. food court in the basement or visit any of the state agencies in the 16-story structure. The protesters began block-ing elevators and escalators in the building around 11 a.m. At that point, four ADAPT members went to Gov. Rod Blagojevich's office on the 16th floor seeking a meeting with him. They did not have an appointment, and Blagojevich was out of the office all day, state officials said. The blockade ended about 5 p.m. after ADAPT leaders met with Matt Summy, Blagojevich's deputy chief of staff, and Grace Hou, assistant secretary of the state Department of Hu-man Services. The activists obtained promises that the governor would meet with the group before Oct. 17 and that he would [image] [image caption] Tribune photo by Scott Strazzante. Linda Anthony of Pottsville, Pa., and other ADAPT members block.an escalator Tuesday at the Thompson Center in the Loop. [text resumes] not reopen the now-shuttered Lincoln Developmental Center. During his first gubernatorial candidacy, Blagojevich vowed to reopen the state-run compound for developmentally dis-abled adults in central Illinois but later conceded that it might not be a good idea. The center closed in 2002 after numerous problems of abuse, neglect and mismanagement. ADAPT activists staged a similar protest Monday, blocking the entrances to the American Medical Association building for more than three hours. atowen@tribune.com - ADAPT (1698)
[Headline] ADAPT at AFSCME [subheading] The Web-guy Diary By Tim Wheat [subheading] ADAPT Action Report: Wednesday, September 12, 2007. One hundred and twenty-one ADAPT activists were arrested today at the offices of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Even though the union still wouldn't endorse the Community Choice Act, everyone in ADAPT looked at today as a success. [subheading] 9:48 am The line of ADAPT activists moves out the same direction as yesterday. I guess that the target is some Chicago office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The chant starts: "accessible, afford-able, integrated housing." I think HUD is a good guess, but I really have no idea. [subheading] 10:14 am The font of the line enters a long underpass along Washington Boulevard. Walking out of line, I pass everyone I watched pass me. In my role as web-guy I guess I get to go wherever I like. The Chicago Police contin- [image] [image caption] Photo by Tim Wheat [text resumes] ue to stop all traffic and prevent pedestrians from crossing the street while the DAAPT line passes. Some people are angry about that, but most find another intersection or just wait as we go by. [subheading] 10:18 am We reach the Chicago River. Typically I am taking photos all along the route, but today I am only writing this diary--I saw all this yesterday. What is neat is the make-shift bridge-plate that ADAPT is carrying to cross the seam at the center of the drawbridge. I decide to stop and photograph us going over the seam. In ADAPT style, the bridge-plate is a piece of plywood. It works great. [subheading] 10:29 am While I am taking photos of the bridge, ADAPT surrounds a building at Whacker and Washington. [subheading] 10:37 am I get right in the middle of the mass of ADAPT activists and Chicago Police and let loose with some loud chanting. I suppose if I knew anything about psychology it would indicate something I am repressing, but as far as I know it just feels good sometimes to let it out. I really cannot sing, I know that for sure; but the "hey-hey, ho-ho nursing homes [image] [image caption] Photos by Tim Wheat [text resumes] have to go," is the closest I come to singing out loud. [subheading] 10:44 am Word comes around that we have people up on the eighth floor. We hold the elevators and I am sure that will cause the temperature to go up a bit inside. I have a three-legged campstool, so I set it up and wait like everyone else. [subheading] 11:12 am I forgot to mention that the HUD guess was wrong, and the ADAPT target is the American Federation of State Country and Municipal Employees. They are the target because they have lost their way as an organization. They have put the interests of men ahead of the dignity of man; they feel the union must support the organizations and not principles. It is ADAPT's job to show them the power of unity and the dignity of humankind. There is a lot of sustained chanting now out on the street and in the lobby. Water bottles filled with coins keep a constant beat on the walls and windows. [subheading] 11: 19 am Word comes the AFSCME turned their backs and walked out of negotiations. The chants stop outside as people ponder what will happen next. When I was taking photos I got the feeling that something was being planned. Now from the front door, packed in with a hundred other people, I can speculate what might "bump things up," but I really have no idea. Slowly people return to chanting, those inside are going strong and I heard handclaps, but I cannot make out the chant. [subheading] 11:35 am I leave my campstool with someone I don't know and respond to a call about action in an alley around the corner. I notice police manning a barricade at a side. When I get around to the back, the cops seem to have everything blocked off with barricades. Louis Patrick gets my attention to let me know what was happening around the [image] [image caption] Photo by Tim Wheat [text resumes] back of the building. He said, "They got us." The cops anticipated the move and outmaneuvered the group in the rear of the building. Louis said. One police officer joked, "We are competitive too, we needed to win one." [subheading] 11:55 am I regret leaving the hotel without my jacket--I have to stay moving to keep warm. Cassie James notices that I am dressed in only a tee-shirt and shorts. She is used to my ridiculous inability to dress appropriately, and she offers me a sweatshirt. It is great. As soon as I slip it on I can feel Cassie's warmth. The black shirt has bold pink writing on it: PISS ON PITY. [subheading] 11:58 am I come across a police officer talking with Barbara and Bruce. Bruce tells me the cop said he has death with many protesters and ADAPT is the best. I assume that he means that we stick to the message and don't take our frustrations out on the cops. I think that is what he means, because I can see a lot of mutual respect. [subheading] 12:08 pm I have a chance to see the lobby. It is packed, wall-to-wall ADAPT. A large banner hangs over the dormant elevators and caution tape crosses the room. It is a pure ADAPT creation. The normal imposing marble and sterile business foyer design is transformed into a groovy colorful gathering of barefoot vagabonds. The style of the day is a bandana made of the plastic caution tape. Loud and proud, the chants subsided some for lunch, but are going strong as I look in. [subheading] 12:56 pm Time for more photos. As I wander around looking for something to grab my attention, Barbara Toomer tells the group at the parking lot that - ADAPT (1702)
ADAPT to get real options for people facing institutionalization. But the head of the AMA, D.r Michael Maves, would not negotiate. He pushed to have people detained, and just before 1:30 p.m., the Chicago police isolated the building and started arresting people. Non-wheelchairs users were picked up and carried away. 55 activists were sited for "failure to disperse," and the north door blockade was rebuilt and reinforced by several police. "We sealed in the AMA from corner to corner," sad Rahnee Patrick of Chicago. "We took the building over and when the AMA representative said they couldn't meet our demands, we told him to 'stick it'." [two images] [image captions] Photos by Tim Olin - ADAPT (1697)
[This page continues the article from Image 1698. Full text is available on 1698 for easier reading.] - ADAPT (1700)
[This page continues the article from Image 1701. Full text is available on 1701 for easier reading.] - ADAPT (1699)
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[Headline] Disabled protest again [Subheading] THOMPSON CENTER BLOCKADED Gov OKs some demands BY NORMAN PARISH AND JIM RITTER Staff Reporters After a protest that eventually closed the Thompson Center Tuesday, disabled activists and Gov. Blagojevich's office agreed on plans they say will help move the dis-abled from nursing homes to community settings. Protesters initially blocked elevators and escalators in-side the building. By Tuesday afternoon, more than 200 demonstrators shut the building down completely by blocking doors with their wheelchairs. The blockade ended about 5 p.m. when the governor's representatives agreed to some of the group's demands, which included proposals Blagojevich's office said it had already planned to carry out. Activists want the state to spend less money sending disabled people to nursing homes and other institutions. The money saved, they say, should pay for assistance programs that would enable [image] [image caption] Disabled protesters block off an escalator Tuesday in the lobby of the Thompson Center. I JOSEPH AMARI-FOR THE SUN-TIMES [text resumes] disabled people to live in their own homes. Blagojevich's office agreed to set up a meeting with ADAPT, the group that organized the protest, by Oct. 17. Officials also ensured that the troubled Lincoln Developmental Center in Lincoln would not reopen. Officials also said ADAPT would be part of a committee to help with a $58 million program to move the disabled from nursing homes and institutions to the general population. Hundreds of visitors were inconvenienced during the protests. Tacara Juarez couldn't get her driver's license after taking the day off to come downtown. Robert Lozano couldn't give blood. Lesley Perrin missed a workers comp arbitration hearing. Monday, ADAPT activists blockaded the American Medical Association building for nearly four hours. - ADAPT (1696)
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[Headline] Lincoln Will Close [Subheading] ADAPT gets a commitment from Governor Blagojevich By Tim Wheat [Subheading] ADAPT Action Report: Sunday, September 11, 2007. Following a long, difficult struggle shutting down business at the James R. Thompson Center, ADAPT won commitments from Illinois Governor Blagojevich's office not to reopen the Lincoln Developmental Center, a 131-year-old institution that housed people with developmental disabilities. It started with a long line of ADAPT activists snaking its way through downtown Chicago this morning. The police stopped traffic and kept pedestrians from crossing the march. When ADAPT reached the state office complex, hundreds of activists rushed across the plaza and flooded the Thompson Center's atrium, leaving the Chicago Police behind. Once inside, the activists took over the elevator bays and the escalators. Although access up into the offices was limited, the expansive atrium remained busy and open to the public. Sixteen floors above the atrium, four ADAPT activists had made their way up into governor's office; from there they could start the discussions. Other activists were stranded one floor below the atrium, but they were able to block pedestrian traffic into two walkways. The building echoed with the noise of 500 angry activists. ADAPT added colorful banners and yellow caution tape at the entrances, elevators and escalators they blocked. By 2 p.m., much of the shock of the occupation had worn off and negotiations had stalled. Then ADAPT "bumped up" the action by blocking the rest of all the building's the entrances, including the public transit gate for the Blue Line El. "I was standing by and noticed that there were openings," said activist Tom Benzinger. "I decided to jump in and block the entrance. Cops were escorting passengers through--but I wouldn't let them go, because I want them to have the experience of being 'locked in' a nursing home." [image] [image caption] Photos by Tim Wheat The "bump-up" raised the tension and brought Blagojevich's staff back to the table. Rahnee Patrick of Chicago ADAPT told them that it was just fine to lock people with disabilities up because that is the way Illinois treats its citizens with disabilities every day. With the prospect of seeing hundreds of activists arrested, the staff conceded to ADAPT's demands. ADAPT was in the process of another "bump-up" when word arrived of successful negotiations. The whole of ADAPT came together in the massive atrium for the announcement. Two of Governor Blagojevich's representatives, Matt Summy and Grace Hou, stood in a sea of tired, but still boisterous, activists. Their commitments: Not only would the Lincoln Center stay closed, but ADAPT would be at the table for the Illinois Money Follows the Person and the Governor's office would meet with ADAPT before October 17. "they wouldn't have come down here unless it was for you holding strong, sending a message that people with disabilities deserve to live in the community [cheers]," said Rahnee. "There are so many people right now in Illinois that don't want to be in those nursing home beds. Thanks for standing up for them today." - ADAPT (1690)
[Headline] ADAPT Activists Arrested in Chicago American Disabled for Attendant Programs Today (ADAPT) activists were arrested outside the American Medical Association (AMA) headquarters in Chicago following protests and presentation of a list of demands involving Medicaid reform and support of the Community Choice Act (S.799, H.R. 1621). An estimated 500 disability activists converged in front of the AMA building, ready to present a list of demands for the organization, including to endorse the Community Choice Act and actively promote its passage; to assure that people with disabilities and senior citizens get real choice in long term care services and supports and are able to live in the most integrated setting; and to provide medical providers with continuing medical education programs about community-based alternatives to institutionalization. Illinois is considered by ADAPT to be the poster child for this larger national problem. The crisis is directly caused by a record of bad decisions made by Illinois state officials, and the institutional bias built into the way the nation's long term care system is funded. Gov. Blagojevich has plans to reopen a state institution for per-sons with developmental disabilities. He has not shown support for Money Follows the Person legislation. Currently, Illinois ranks 41st in the nation for providing the community-based services that will allow disabled and older citizens to stay in their own homes. "It turns my stomach to know that my state, historically a home of civil rights in America for people of color, is the same state that is one of the worst civil rights performers in regard to people with disabilities," said Chicago native Larry Biondi, an organizer with Chicago ADAPT. "I'm ashamed of Illinois' record of institutionalizing people with dis-abilities. Right now there almost 20,000 people who have said they want to get out of Illinois' nursing homes- nursing homes they never wanted to go into in the first place. But they were forced to go there by the institutional bias in Medicaid funding." While in Chicago, ADAPT also held a national housing forum that was attended by HUD Fair Housing Assistant Secretary Kim Kendrick, and state and local officials. At the forum, ADAPT revealed its national housing agenda, and distributed information on pending visitability legislation, and the redirection of HUD's 811 Supportive Housing Continued on page 21 - ADAPT (1691)
[Headline] Seeking doctors' support for housing options other than nursing homes for long-term care, activists close down headquarters' entrances By Mary Owen Tribune staff reporter Larry Lawson says he lost his independence after a stroke and brain aneurysm four years ago. Paralyzed on his left side, the former Cook County employee now must use a wheelchair. His doctor gave him only one choice for long-term living: a nursing home on Chicago's South Side. "I've been a refugee in the nursing-home system," said Lawson, 57. "I am able enough to live in my apartment with the help of social services. I would like to have my own place." Lawson was one of 200 disabled protesters who blocked the entrances to the American Medical Association's headquarters in the River North area Monday for more than three hours in a demonstration over housing options for people with disabilities. The protesters from the advocacy group ADAPT want the AMA, the nation's leading physicians group, to endorse federal legislation that aims to pro-vide more access to community-based services. Under the cur-rent system, which advocates have criticized for more than a decade, seniors and disabled patients are often forced to live in nursing homes to get the services they need, organizers say. "There's a myth that nursing homes are a necessary and important option. But we disagree with that," said Rene David Luna, a wheelchair user who works for Access Living, a Chicago advocacy group for people with disabilities. "It shouldn't be an option at all." Protesters made their way from the Crowne Plaza, 733 W. Madison St., west of the Loop, to the AMA building at Grand Avenue and State Street. Police blocked traffic as protesters traveled in a single-file line along the sides of Madison, La-Salle, Lake and State Streets. When the demonstrators arrived at the AMA building, they blocked four entrances and a lower-level parking garage. About 1:30 p.m., police issued 42 tickets and removed protesters from the building's north entrance to allow for office employees to leave. About 2 p.m., the group ended its blockade of the other three entrances and the garage entrance. The AMA has more than 700 employees on 14 floors in the building. The other half of the building is occupied by other tenants, who also were left standing in the lobby as building officials locked the doors to the entrances. One woman in-side the building was taken away by paramedics when she became "hysterical" at the thought of being trapped inside the building, an AMA official said. Outside, protesters held signs that said "AMA don't lock us away" and "Now you know what it's like to be stuck in a nursing home." Protesters said doctors often refer disabled people to the nursing-home system without exploring possibilities such as home-care services that would allow them to live more independently. They want AMA officials to endorse the Community Choice Act, a bill introduced in Congress earlier this year that would provide more options, including allowing a patient to use Medicaid dollars to live in an apartment rather than a nursing home. "Literally, [doctors] force people into nursing homes with a swipe of a pen," said Randy Alexander, 37, a wheelchair user from Memphis. "It's about dignity. People have a right to decide where they want to live." Organizers acknowledge that doctors are not the sole deci-sion-makers when determining long-term care for patients, but they do provide guidance and outline patients' options. And too often nursing homes are portrayed as the only viable option, they said. "What we're trying to change is the long-term health-care system," said Gary Arnold of Access Living. "The AMA has a lot of influence over that. We feel like their word would carry a lot of clout." In an Aug. 30 letter to ADAPT, AMA Executive Director Michael Mayes told the group that the association "supports home and community-based care, when medically appropriate, as an alternative to institutional care." An AMA official said the organization met with ADAPT this summer. The meeting led to the association's council on legislation to review the proposed act. A council recommendation is expected later this month. At that point, the AMA's board of trustees could decide whether the association will endorse the legislation or put it to a vote by the membership. The protest was part of a biannual national meeting of people with disabilities from across the country. ADAPT held a forum on affordable and accessible housing Sunday, and its planning two more protests this week. The group would not dis-close what or where the other demonstrations would be. mowen@tribune.corn - ADAPT (1692)
2 CHICAGO TRIBUNE METRO SECTION 2 TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2007 [image] [image caption] Disabled demonstrators head north on State Street in the River North area Monday, making their way toward the American Association's headquarters. Tribune photo by Michael Tercha [Headline] Disabled protesters blockade AMA - ADAPT (1693)
arrests will be made and they will start at this spot. As I look around I don't see anyone that is new to arrest. I take a position where I can video the event. The arrest is a statement that we will not move. I think it is to say that, despite the talk, ADAPT believes strongly in our right to live in the community and that in this we are stronger than AFSCME. I stand with those who are about to get busted, but I doubt I am in much danger of being arrested. Cassie will certainly be arrested. Sue, Frank and Toni, who I just met, are going to jail. My friend and roommate, Mike, is out there to get busted. [subheading] 1:04 pm The arrests are being made. I have to stop with this journal and start with the video and photos. [subheading] 1:18 pm The arrests are made quickly in the back. Everyone cooperated and moved away. I head around to the lobby to see if there will be arrests there. I see Marsha and tell her that I think about 30 people have been arrested. Right after I said that that I see Tim, who got stepped on yesterday at the transit entrance of the Thompson building. He writes on my notepad that he counted 15 arrested. My guesswork and speculation are off today. [subheading] 2:19 pm The arrests are completed and ADAPT is on the Chicago Streets again. I spoke with Randy, who led the march back to the hotel. He said AFSCME does not respect people with disabilities nor its workers. Randy, from Memphis, wore a piece of paper on his chest that read: "I am a man," in reference to the 1968 garbage workers strike. He said that MLK would likely stand with us against AFSCME because of ADAPT's struggle for equality. Indeed, Martin Luther King III spoke at the ADAPT March for Justice in October 2000 where he said: "Our destinies are tied together." The group is festive. People are joking and disorganized. Already, people are telling their "war stories" from the action. [subheading] 2:37 pm On the way back we mingle with the police one applauds us. The single-file cannot even be imagined from the meandering group headed back. We get close to the hotel and the final "big meeting." I miss Bob Kafka. He is not at this action and no one can frame our issues like he can. I feel very strongly about today's action, and I am proud of how ADAPT did not back down. Being out here in the street with everyone I am more certain that we will overcome. - ADAPT (1689)
ADAPT Continued from page 3 program funds to projects that are integrated. Currently, the 811 program primarily funds segregated housing situations for people with disabilities. Two hours of testimony about the lack of affordable, accessible integrated housing articulated by disability rights activists from across the nation followed. But HUD officials remarks reportedly in-cited the crowd to anger. "We just heard the same old rhetoric, lots of promises, but no action," said Cassie James, ADAPT Organizer from Philadelphia who moderated the Housing Forum. In a May meeting in Washington, D.C., ADAPT con-fronted Secretary Jackson about the 58 percent loss in housing vouchers that the dis-ability community suffered due to a combination of federal budget cuts, and misappropriation of the vouchers by local entities that administer the voucher program. Jackson promised to report to ADAPT before the action in Chicago how many of those housing vouchers for people with dis-abilities he has recovered. Jackson, who had also promised in May to meet with ADAPT three times a year, failed to show in Chicago, sending Kim Kendrick, Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity, and Paula Blunt, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public and Indian Housing in his place. Neither Kendrick nor Blunt provided the numbers promised by their boss in May. "As we have begun to make progress in getting people out of institutions, and prevent-ing people from being forced into institutions, the lack of affordable, accessible, integrated housing in typical neighborhoods has become glaringly apparent," said Beto Berrera, a member of Chicago ADAPT and a Chicago housing expert.