Henry T. Chandler Jr., 1954-2011 : Chairman for Access Living

Henry T. Chandler Jr., 1954-2011

As a board member and chairman for Access Living, Henry "Harry" Chandler Jr. was a soft-spoken and effective advocate for people with disabilities. But his contributions to the community didn't stop there.

{photo: Harry Chandler, with his mother Clarissa Chandler}



"He was thoughtful about issues of civil liberties, the environment and public transit," said Marca Bristo, president and CEO of Access Living, which provides services and advocacy for people with a wide variety of disabilities.

Mr. Chandler, a quadriplegic who used a wheelchair after a surfing accident when he was in college, was on the boards of several other community organizations, including the Chicago Transit Board, the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois and Openlands, Bristo said.

Mr. Chandler, 56, died Tuesday, Sept. 13, in Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, according to his mother, Clarissa Chandler. The cause of death was a pulmonary embolism, said his sister, Laura Chandler. He had lived in Chicago for about 18 years.

Mr. Chandler was a 20-year-old college student in California when a surfing accident injured his spinal cord and left him a quadriplegic. He underwent rehabilitation at what is now Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, Calif., before coming back to the Chicago area to live with his family in Lake Forest. He enrolled at Lake Forest College and graduated in 1980 with a degree in philosophy.

After graduation, Mr. Chandler joined a program that trained people with disabilities to use computers and then placed them in internships with area companies.

An internship with Allstate Insurance Co. in Northbrook turned into a full-time job, and Mr. Chandler worked there for a number of years.

In 1996, Mr. Chandler joined the board of Access Living. He had met Bristo at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and she had been persistent in trying to recruit him as a board member.

"It took quite a bit of talking," Bristo said of her efforts to convince Mr. Chandler that his experiences could be helpful to others.

Mr. Chandler chaired the organization's board from 2003 to 2008, lending his leadership skills to several critical issues, including a major capital campaign to build what is now the organization's permanent home at 115 W. Chicago Ave. in Chicago.

He also led the organization in 2007 when Access Living brought a class action suit against the state of Illinois on behalf of more than 20,000 people with disabilities receiving Medicaid and living in nursing homes in Cook County.

Access Living's contention was that the state was violating the Americans with Disabilities Act by sequestering disabled people in nursing homes. A proposed settlement reached in August, which remains subject to court approval, would allow those people to transition to homes of their choice.

"Another person might not have had the courage to take on the state, especially since we receive some state funding," Bristo said.

Mr. Chandler's advocacy efforts didn't stop with people with disabilities, according to Terry Peterson, chairman of the Chicago Transit Authority's Chicago Transit Board.

"Harry was an advocate for all transit riders, not just those with disabilities," Peterson said. "He always asked the tough questions, but also the right questions," Peterson said, adding that Mr. Chandler had a lively sense of humor and was someone with whom he could always discuss ideas.

Jerry Adelmann, president and CEO of Openlands, the Chicago-based land conservation organization, said Mr. Chandler, who joined the Openlands board in 2006, brought a "wonderful perspective" to the organization.

Mr. Chandler was recently involved in accessibility considerations for the organization's just-dedicated Openlands Lakeshore Preserve in Fort Sheridan, north of Chicago.

"He had a broad focus on inclusiveness in society in general," Adelmann said.

Mr. Chandler was married in 1986 and divorced seven years later, according to a stepdaughter.

Mr. Chandler is also survived by his father, Henry Chandler Sr.; a sister, Phoebe Turner; a brother, Edward; and stepdaughters Elaine Delaney Frei and Rachel Delaney.

A celebration of Mr. Chandler's life is planned for 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 6 in the Henry T. Chandler Jr. Gallery in the Access Living offices, 115 W. Chicago Ave., Chicago.

# Source: Chicago Tribune By Graydon Megan, Special to the Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-met-chandler-obit-20110922,0,6937.story