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Trang chủ / Đề mục / Chicago, Fall 2007 25
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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.
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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
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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."
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[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
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[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