Chicago Marathon Includes 2016 US Paralympic Team Trials (Oct. 11th)

Tatyana McFadden in Chicago Marathon : photo

Top male and female wheelchair racers will be closer to securing a spot on Team USA for Rio 2016.

shared by Bank of America Chicago Marathon | Sept. 19, 2015

The Bank of America Chicago Marathon announced it will host the 2016 US Paralympic Team Trials Marathon on the streets of Chicago, USA, on October 11. The USA’s top athletes will race in the event’s professional elite wheelchair field to secure one of four spots on the US team that will head to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.

The top two male and female US wheelchair finishers will be one step closer to earning a bid to Rio 2016.

“With the trials and the Chicago-New York Challenge, Chicago will be a focal point for disability sport this fall, and we are honoured to play a role in elevating attention paid to these tremendous athletes,” said Carey Pinkowski, executive race director.

Headlining the US field are 2014 Chicago Marathon champions Tatyana McFadden and Josh George. McFadden and George, both hailing from the storied University of Illinois (U of I) wheelchair racing team, will return to defend their titles and work toward securing their positions in Rio 2016.

In three summer Paralympic Games appearances (Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, London 2012), McFadden, 26, has captured three gold, four silver and three bronze medals. In 2014, McFadden diversified her skills when she broke into a new sport – cross-country skiing – for which she took home a silver medal at the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games, her first appearance at a Paralympic Winter Games.

"The competition in Chicago will be even more exciting this year with the addition of the US Paralympic Team Trials and the Chicago-New York Challenge," said McFadden, 2014 Chicago Marathon Champion. "It's an amazing opportunity to be in a position to qualify for the 2016 Paralympic Games, but to do it on what I consider my hometown course makes it all the more meaningful."

George, 31, has taken home a total of four medals in Athens 2004 (bronze), Beijing 2008 (gold, silver), and London 2012 (bronze).

Fourteen U of I teammates are challenging McFadden and George for a spot on Team USA and competing for a Chicago win, including Amanda McGrory and Adam Bleakney.

In addition to racing for a spot on Team USA, athletes will be competing against an international field vying for the championship of the first Chicago-New York Challenge, which will serve as a prelude to the inaugural Abbott World Marathon Majors Wheelchair Series.

“Team USA’s wheelchair racers have a strong tradition of excellence in the marathon, and we are excited to see our first track and field athletes punch their tickets to Rio on the streets of Chicago,” said Rick Adams, chief of Paralympic Sport and National Governing Body Organisational Development for the United States Olympic Committee. “The Chicago Marathon always puts on a world-class event for our athletes, and we know that they will serve as excellent hosts for our first Trials for the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games."

For a complete roster of athletes competing in the trials at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon, go to the event website.

Section 508 Best Practices Webinar: Basic Testing Guide for Making an Accessible PDF (September 29)

United States Access Board -- The next webinar in the Section 508 Best Practices Webinar Series will take place September 29 from 1:00 to 2:30 (ET) and will cover testing of Portable Document Format (PDF) files for compliance with the Section 508 Standards. Presenters will review a draft best practices guide for baseline testing of PDF files prepared by the CIO Council's Accessible Electronic Document Community of Practice. The guide, "Harmonized Processes for Section 508 Testing: Baseline Tests for Accessible Electronic Documents—PDF Portable Document Format," establishes testing protocols to determine whether a PDF file satisfies Section 508 requirements. This guidance, which is due to be issued soon in final form, is part of an effort to establish a uniform approach to Section 508 testing among government agencies.

For more details or to register for this free webinar, visit www.adaconferences.org/CIOC/. Registration closes 24 hours before the start of the session.

The Section 508 Best Practices Webinar Series provides helpful information and best practices for federal agencies in meeting their obligations under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act which ensures access to electronic and information technology in the federal sector. This webinar series is made available by the Accessibility Community of Practice of the CIO Council in partnership with the U.S. Access Board.

Accessible Electronic Documents: Section 508 Basic Testing Guide for Making an Accessible PDF (Portable Document Format)September 29, 2015 1:00- 2:30 (ET)      
Presenters:
• Holly Anderson, Policy Liaison for Individuals with Disabilities, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education
• Crystal Jones, Management and Program Analyst, Office of the Chief Information Officer, U.S. Department of Education
• Timothy Creagan, U.S Access Board (moderator)
Registration: www.adaconferences.org/CIOC/
Note: Registration closes 24 hours before the start of the session. Instructions for accessing the webinar on the day of the session will be sent via email to registered individuals in advance of the session. Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) and Video Sign Language Interpreters are available for each session and will be broadcast via the webinar platform. A telephone option (not toll-free) for receiving audio is also available. 

# as shared by the United States Access Board

Social Security 2016 COLA increase unlikely, But with Medicare increase for some

In a decision that could have gone either way, the Fed's decided not to raise its key interest rate in September.

article by Jim Watkins | Ability Chicago Info | Sept. 18, 2015

For those collecting Social Security, this could lead to NO Cost Of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2016. Inflation hasn't been high enough to trigger a Social Security cost of living adjustment, or COLA, for 2016, according to predictions in August by Social Security's trustees.

The Fed’s committee raised its expectations for economic growth this year to 2.1% from 1.9%, and it lowered its projection for the unemployment rate by the end of the year to 5%. Currently, unemployment is 5.1%.

“Recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat,” the Fed’s committee said in a statement.

Medicare Part B premium will stay the same in 2016 for a estimated 70% of participants as it has been for the last couple of years: $104.90. That's because of the relationship between Social Security and Medicare. 

The rules contain a hold-harmless clause that prevents increases in Medicare costs that are greater than Social Security's COLA. So if the trustees' prediction last month holds true -- that there won't be any COLA in 2016 -- for most participants that means Medicare Part B costs will be flat.

But some 30% of Medicare participants can expect a significant increase in Part B costs -- as much as 52% in 2016 -- because Medicare is required by law to cover a certain amount of its costs. If the costs can't be shared among everybody because of the hold-harmless clause, then those people not covered under the hold-harmless clause will feel the pain. 

Who will pay more?

• People new to Medicare in 2016.
• People who have deferred claiming Social Security til at least 2016.
• People in a Higher Income limit. (annual incomes are above $85,000 for an individual or $170,000 for a couple)

For the Social Security Administration, visit: http://www.ssa.gov/

Chicago Access Theater Performances Oct. 2015 for The Tempest: Open-Captioned - ASL Duo-Interpreted - Audio-Described

Enjoy an Access Shakespeare Performance at Chicago Shakespeare Theater

The Tempest

Open-Captioned                                            ASL Duo-Interpreted                         Audio-Described

Friday, October 16, 7:30 p.m.                  Friday, October 23, 7:30 p.m.         Sunday, October 18, 2:00 p.m.

TICKETS AS LOW AS $20

with our “Pay-What-You-Can” Access Shakespeare Program

Directors Aaron Posner and Teller (of Penn & Teller) plunge audiences into a unique and impossible world, where spirits roam, magic is real, reality is elusive and illusion abounds. After twelve years marooned with his daughter Miranda, the deposed duke Prospero must now choose between his desire for revenge and the freedom that can only come with forgiveness.  Audiences will be spellbound by the awe-inspiring magic, soulful ballads by Tom Waits and Kathleen Brennan, mind-bending choreography from Pilobolus and a remarkable ensemble of actors led by the incomparable Larry Yando as Prospero.

Purchase your tickets in advance by calling 312.595.5600.

For more information, please visit www.chicagoshakes.com/tempest.

Twitter

Be a part of the magic of #cstTEMPEST at one of these #Access Shakespeare Performances  @chicagoshakes Details: http://bit.ly/1Ui9OEe

#cstTEMPEST @chicagoshakes 

Open-captioned on Oct 16, Audio-described on Oct 18 & Sign-interpreted on Oct 23. Details: bit.ly/1Ui9OEe

(optional Touch Tour Oct 18th at 12:00 p.m.)

Open-captioned Performance:      
Friday, October 16, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.
Captioned by c2

ASL Duo-interpreted Performance:      
Friday, October 23, 2016 at 7:30 p.m.
Interpreted by Will Lee (NIC) and Elizabeth Bartlow Breslin (CI/CT)

Audio-described Performance/Touch Tour:
Sunday, October 18, 2015 at 2:00 p.m.  (Touch Tour begins at 12:00 p.m.).
Described by Jason Harrington

-  https://www.chicagoshakes.com/plays_and_events/tempest/tempest_access#sthash.28YAXpsg.dpuf

Voices for Illinois Children details the negative impacts of the state budget impasse on services

Child Advocacy Group: Critical State Services Are Deteriorating During Illinois Budget Impasse

wonderful article by Ellyn Fortino | Progress Illinois | Sept 17, 2015
Assistance for victims of violent crimes. Services for homeless youth. Aid to public colleges and universities.

Those are among the casualties of the state's budget impasse, which is now in its third month.

A report issued Tuesday by a prominent Illinois child advocacy organization provides a clearer understanding of what state services are, and are not, being funded as lawmakers and the governor continue their monthslong battle over a budget for the 2016 fiscal year that began on July 1.

"While some services are being partially funded as a result of court orders or the availability of federal dollars, the lack of state appropriations has resulted in the deterioration -- and in a growing number of cases, the elimination -- of critical services for children, families and communities," reads the report from the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices for Illinois Children.

The organization highlights over 60 services and programs that are being impacted because the state is not authorized to fund them without a budget in place.

Federal "pass-through" dollars for certain services in Illinois have been released. But that money covers only a small part of the budgets for a number programs that provide HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, breast and cervical cancer screenings, child care assistance and many other services.

Lisa Christensen Gee with the Fiscal Policy Center at Voices for Illinois Children said the state's lack of "a fully funded, year-long budget" is causing "widespread damage" to the state.

"Our state's most vulnerable people, including children, people with disabilities, and seniors, are especially threatened by this inaction," she writes in the report.

Here's a look at some of the wide-ranging impacts of the budget impasse, as detailed in the report: 16 Teen Reach after school programs have closed, affecting over 1,500 youth; the state's conservation police officer force has been reduced by a third; the Epilepsy Resource Center in Springfield and a substance abuse treatment facility in Cairo have closed; public transit services for school children and seniors in the cities of Waterloo, Red Bud, and Sparta have been eliminated because the area's transit district was closed; and half of the state's 97 soil and water conservation districts are expected to close by the end of September.

Service providers overall are facing layoffs, program reductions and pending closures.

For example, the state's only sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) prevention provider has been forced to eliminate all but one staff member.

Lisle-based SIDS of Illinois had to cut its five contracted educators, who did SIDS prevention training and delivered low-cost, portable cribs to families in need, among other services.

SIDS of Illinois Executive Director Nancy Maruyama is the only employee currently at the organization, which depends on state funding for 70 percent of its annual budget.

Families are no longer getting cribs from the SIDS prevention program, because SIDS of Illinois does not have the money to purchase them.

Maruyama, who is drawing her salary from the group's reserves, is providing as much educational outreach, bereavement support and other services as she can on her own, on top of handling administrative duties.

"I am already putting in 12 hour days, and I still can't stay caught up," she said.

If the budget stalemate continues much longer, Maruyama said SIDS of Illinois could be forced to close its doors.

"I can't bear the thought of this organization having to close, because it was built on the back of bereaved parents," she said. "I cannot let this go down. I won't let it go down without a fight."

Maruyama urged Democratic leaders and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner to reach a budget agreement.

"Work this out," she stressed. "How many babies have to die before this gets straightened out?"

A state program that provides services for families with young children with diagnosed disabilities or developmental delays is also among those that have taken a hit during the budget impasse. The report shows that Early Intervention providers got fiscal year 2016 contracts, but they haven't been paid because of the state's lack of an enacted budget.

At least four Early Intervention Child and Family Connection agencies could close their doors this month if they don't get their state funding, the advocacy group says. If that happens, services for 4,000 families as well as new program participants would be disrupted, and 97 staffers would be out of work, according to the report.

One day after the Fiscal Policy Center released its report, however, Illinois Comptroller Leslie Munger said the state will start making payments to Early Intervention providers.

Early Intervention services should have been covered under an active consent decree requiring payments to providers during the budget impasse, but the comptroller's office said it recently learned that the services were "slipping through the cracks" of that requirement.

"I know the tremendous benefits that Early Intervention services can provide to our delayed and disabled infants and toddlers, and I was extremely concerned when I learned many providers would likely be suspending their vital therapeutic services at the end of this month," Munger said in a news release Wednesday. "My office is working today to set up the accounts and we will immediately begin making payments to Early Intervention providers as soon as we receive vouchers from DHS so we can avoid further hardships."

http://progressillinois.com/posts/content/2015/09/17/child-advocacy-group-critical-state-services-are-deteriorating-during

FOR MORE FROM 'PROGRESS ILLINOIS' VISIT: http://progressillinois.com/

Henry’s Turkey Service, Heirs Must Turn over $600,000 Owed to 32 Disabled Workers for wages, exploitation, and abusive

PRESS RELEASE | Sept. 17, 2015
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

EEOC and U.S. Attorney Successfully Intervene in Deal That Would Have Diverted Monies Away From Victims of Discrimination

DALLAS - U.S. District Chief Judge Jorge A. Solis issued an order on September 11, 2015, to override a confidential settlement that would have re-directed over half a million dollars away from a class of 32 intellectually disabled former employees of Hill Country Farms, Inc. (HCF), dba Henry's Turkey Service.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) had asked the U.S. attorney's office for the Northern District of Texas to monitor a suspicious land deal -- a financial arrangement that would have resulted in a total of approximately $600,000 changing hands in settlement of an action for declaratory judgment filed in Mills County, Texas, where Henry's Turkey Service was based.  As a result, the U.S. attorney's office found evidence of what it found to be a fraudulent transaction and filed an emergency motion for a court intervention.

When issuing the order, Judge Solis wrote: "The Court does not believe it is by accident that the settlement proceeds make their way to the children of HCF's owners, all while avoiding the reach of the United States.  This was an intentional scheme concocted solely to shield a substantial sum of money from the United States' collection efforts.  Accordingly, the Court finds ... any benefit due to the Estate under the Settlement Agreement is the property of HCF and, as such, is subject to this Court's authority to aid the United States in obtaining satisfaction of its judgment against Henry and HCF."

The U.S. attorney and EEOC had filed briefs seeking the court's intervention to prevent the injustice that the government alleged would result if a secret side agreement were allowed to control a settlement of the Mills County action.  

EEOC and the U.S. attorney were able to intercept and secure the monies as part of an effort to collect over $3 million in unpaid judgments obtained by two federal agencies against Henry's Turkey for wages, financial exploitation, discrimination and abusive conduct against the disabled adults who worked in Texas and Iowa for decades while never being paid more than $65 per month.  

The Motion for Turnover Order filed by the U.S. attorney in Case No. 3:12-CV-4737-P in the Dallas federal court sought to collect on both the $3.74 million judgment (2013) in favor of EEOC under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), against Hill Country Farms, dba Henry's Turkey Service, and an earlier $1.7 million judgment (2011) by the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) against the same defendant and corporate officer, Kenneth Henry, for minimum wage and overtime violations of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). 

"Since the time when most of the men were rescued from their deplorable working conditions in 2009, they have been waiting for compensation," said Robert Canino, regional attorney for EEOC's Dallas District Office, who worked closely with the U.S. attorney's office in the collection.  "The jury verdict in 2013 struck a blow toward justice and brought to light important discrimination issues; however, the monetary aspect of the legal remedies has been slow in coming.  While the case has been very important in furthering societal dialogue on employment practices that can be misused to exploit the disabled, EEOC has not relented in its pursuit of the dollar compensation that these men earned by their sweat and their suffering."

On May 1, 2013, a jury in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa in Davenport rendered a verdict of $240 million in favor of the 32 workers. The jury found that for years during their employment, the intellectually disabled men went unpaid and were subjected to substandard living conditions, restrictions on personal freedoms, denial of medical care and harsh discipline as well as verbal and physical harassment. The jury found further that the treatment suffered was because of the contracted turkey processing workers' vulnerability as persons with intellectual disabilities. 

This largest jury verdict ever obtained by EEOC was later reduced to $1.6 million, representing $50,000 in compensatory and punitive damages per man based on applicable statutory caps under the Civil Rights Act of 1991. An earlier award for unpaid market wages for a two-year period, together with the damages for the treatment, brought EEOC's total judgment to $3.74 million. Notwithstanding the elusiveness of the company's assets in the years surrounding the litigation, collection of the judg­ment through garnishments and liens had recently reached an accumulated amount of about $272,000 prior to this latest court order. The confidential agreement to change the beneficiaries of the Texas land deal to re-direct proceeds away from possible payment for the discrimination was dated July 2013, only one month after the June 2013 final entry of judgment in favor of EEOC in the discrimin­ation case.

If the company and private parties involved comply with the court's order, the government will begin a process for distribution of over $850,000 collected to date to the class members. EEOC will coordinate with the U.S. Department of Labor to begin the distribution plan and process. 

Protecting vulnerable workers is one of the six strategic enforcement priorities identified by the Commission.  EEOC is responsible for enforcing federal laws against employment discrimination. Further information about the agency is available at www.eeoc.gov.

http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/newsroom/release/9-17-15b.cfm

### 

RELATED POSTS ON HENRY'S TURKEY SERVICE: 
http://abilitychicagoinfo.blogspot.com/search?q=Henry%E2%80%99s+Turkey+Service&max-results=20&by-date=true

Illinois finally to fund services for Children with Disabilities amid State Budget Impasse

CHICAGO — Illinois will begin paying for services to help young children with developmental disabilities and to assist seniors in their homes despite not having a budget in place and warnings from lawmakers that the state is spending billions more than it's taking in.

By Sara Burnett, The Associated Press | Sept. 16, 2015Comptroller Leslie Munger said Wednesday that her office determined the early intervention services, provided to children up to age 3, should have been paid for under a previously issued consent decree that requires some social services be funded. In a separate action, a federal judge ruled that a program aimed at helping seniors avoid costly nursing home care is covered by a court order requiring state payment.

Munger said she learned last week that the program was "slipping through the cracks" and some providers were about to suspend programs. After consulting with attorneys, she decided payments to providers should be processed immediately and are a "relatively low amount" compared with the state's overall budget crisis.

Meanwhile, the Community Care Program, which provides Medicaid-covered in-home services for seniors, must be funded under a decades-old consent decree governing services under Medicaid, U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow ruled Wednesday. Providers might not see immediate payment for their work with 89,000 seniors, according to plaintiffs' lawyer Stephanie Altman with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. She did not immediately know how much is owed.

"This is just getting into the queue, but without getting into the queue, you have no hope," Altman said.

Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and majority Democrats remain far apart on a budget deal for the fiscal year that began July 1. Under state law and various court orders, many bills — such as state payroll, pension payments and some social services — are being paid at a pace that, if it continues throughout the fiscal year, could lead to multibillion-dollar deficit.

Other payments can't be processed because the comptroller's office doesn't have authority to cut the checks.

Munger said her office is being "bombarded" with about 5,000 phone calls per week from providers and vendors hoping they'll be paid or wondering when they might see their money. It's led many social service agencies to lay off staff, and others have closed.

The former businesswoman, whom Rauner appointed to fill the term of the late Judy Baar Topinka, again called on legislators and the governor to reach a budget deal. She noted that in 2014 Illinois paid more than $50 million in late fees to providers and vendors — a number that will be significantly higher this year as the backlog of unpaid bills grows.

"This is no way to run this state," she said.

Munger also said that suggestions by some people that she's a "mouthpiece" for Rauner are wrong. Munger is seeking her first full term in 2016, and Democrats already have linked her to Rauner and proposals they say hurt working people.

During a speech at a GOP gathering last month, she described herself as Rauner's budgetary "wingman," and she frequently advocates for Rauner-backed agenda items such as changing workers' compensation to make it less costly for businesses.

"I'm not saying this because the governor tells me to say this," Munger said. "I say these things because I believe it."

She said she disagrees with Rauner on some issues, such as his cuts to subsidized child care for low-income families, which she said were too deep.

— Associated Press writer John O'Connor in Springfield contributed to this report.

Illinois must fund senior-aid program 'Community Care Program', Judge orders

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — A federal judge has ruled a program providing in-home services to seniors is covered by Medicaid and should be funded even though there's no Illinois budget because of a political stalemate.

Stephanie Altman is with the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law. She says U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow issued the ruling in Chicago on Wednesday.

Altman says the Community Care Program serves 89,000 seniors. It provides homemaking assistance which allows them to avoid costly nursing home care.

Medicaid funds it so Lefkow found that it falls under an existing federal consent decree requiring state payments for Medicaid-covered programs even during a budget impasse.

But the state comptroller has had trouble keeping up with payments to all the programs and services covered by consent decrees.

September 16, 2015

The Associated Press

Australian Dylan Alcott has won the 2015 US Open Wheelchair Quad Singles event

The 24-year-old defeated American David Wagner 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 to win his first US Open title.

By Cassandra Bedwell | ABC au news | Sept 13, 2015

Wheelchair quad tennis is for athletes with three limbs affected by disability.

Tennis players competing in the quad events can use electric-powered wheelchairs and rackets taped to their hand.

The Melbournian said it was an "epic" match and it was hard to believe he had won the title.

"I came out of the blocks really strong and then lost the second set and then the third set went forever," he said.

"I started cramping and had to call the trainer because I had a sore, injured hand and I was just in all sorts.

"I've been training so hard for months and months, I've been in Europe for eight weeks and then home for a week and then back over here — it's just been full on.

"So to come home with the title is absolutely unbelievable."

The quad singles event is a round robin competition with a final to decide the winner.

Alcott lost one match during the competition and said he played pretty poorly during the week.

"I just found my form on the last day I guess," he said.

"We had a huge crowd out there out at Queens at Flushing Meadows.

"After a tough loss the other day it was a great feeling."

In the wheelchair quads doubles event, Alcott and British player Andrew Lapthorne lost to Wagner and fellow American Nicholas Taylor.

Alcott, the world number one, secured his first Grand Slam title at the 2015 Australian Open.

He is also a gold medallist after winning top honours with the Australian wheelchair basketball team at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

He said he was now aiming for a gold medal in tennis at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

"My next goal is to be one of only a few people to win gold in two different sports across two different games," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-14/dylan-alcott-wins-epic-us-open-wheelchair-quad-final/6773660

Illinois meetings for people with developmental disabilities and their guardians on community living options: Sept 29 - Oct 14 2015

CQL, The Council on Quality and Leadership, is hosting meetings throughout the state of Illinois, to offer Potential Ligas Class Members an opportunity to learn about the Ligas Consent Decree. 

Potential Ligas Class Members can take advantage of this opportunity to learn about the Ligas Consent Decree and what that means to Potential Class Members or the guardian of a Potential Class Member.

DURING THE MEETING PEOPLE WILL LEARN ABOUT:

• The Ligas Consent Decree
• What makes you or the person for whom you are guardian a Potential Class Member
• Your rights as a Potential Class Member to have a choice in where you live and receive services
• What options you have as a Potential Class Member to continue to live in your current home or move to a different home

If you are interested, but are unable to attend any of the meetings listed at 

 http://www.c-q-l.org/ligas-outreach/ligas-informational-meetings
please call and RSVP: (818) 662-2225

Meetings will take place in various locations in Illinois from September 29 thru October 14, 2015

# as posted by CQL, The Council on Quality and Leadership

http://www.c-q-l.org/ligas-outreach/ligas-informational-meetings