Fw: The Arc and Story on Ligas Settlement

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The Arc and Story on Ligas SettlementNice job, JJ!

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The Arc and Story on Ligas Settlement

The Arc of Illinois issues of the day from the desk of Tony

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The Arc of Illinois

The Arc of Illinois is a state chapter of The Arc

of the United States. The Arc of Illinois is committed to empowering persons

with disabilities to achieve full participation in community life through

informed choices.

Leaders in The Arc:

Here is another story on the Ligas settlement.

The Arc is quoted.

This week I am on vacation.

Tony auski

The Arc of Illinois

815-464-1832

Local Advocates Applaud State Funding

Options For Disabled Adults

Illinois must comply with the Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1990, so more people living with disabilities can live in

group homes.

Cicarelli lives with moderate developmental

disabilities in an institution in Lincolnshire, and much to his chagrin, he has

spent the past 15 years on a waiting list to be allowed to live in a community

home.

Now, he may get his chance.

Cicarelli and Chicago-area disability rights

advocates are among those ecstatic after last week's revelation that they and

their constituents will have a greater say in their living arrangements.

On June 15, a U.S. District Judge Holderman

approved a consent decree that Illinois must comply with the Americans with

Disabilities Act of 1990, which cuts down on discrimination against disabled

individuals and protects their right to integrate into their communities.

“I feel pretty good, because I want to live

close to my parents,†Cicarelli said. “I want to help children in the

community, for safety and learning and stuff.â€

As one of five plaintiffs on Ligas v. Hamos,

Cicarelli and his friends have won the right to move into a small group home in

the next 60 days, just in time for his Sept. 25 birthday.

“I want to have a couple of pets,†Cicarelli

said, referring to the cat and dog living with his mother in Arlington Heights.

“There are none here. They don't allow no pets. They're nice company.â€

Tony auski, director of the Arc of Illinois,

said the decree will affect two groups of people: about 6,000 developmentally

disabled individuals currently living in institutions, and about 21,000 Illinois

residents waiting to receive services. Over the next six years, about 3,000

people will be able to move off the waiting list and have the state fund their

living arrangements.

" If the state's going to have a waiting list, it

needs to move at a reasonable space, " auski said, explaining that the

individuals on the long waiting list now have a better chance at receiving a

placement. " This waiting list wasn't moving; it was growing. We've still got to

pound away at the state that they still have an obligation here. "

Barry , the lead counsel alongside 11 other

attorneys on the case, called it a “landmark victory.â€

“For the first time, thousands of people are

going to have the choice of where to live,†said. “People with

disabilities are entitled to live in the most integrated setting, and Illinois

wasn't doing that.â€

said individuals will be allowed to opt in

to local community housing and services, and he stressed that those already in

an institution don’t have to move out if they don’t want to.

“It's just great news,†said J.J. Hanley, the

mother of a son with high-functioning autism and the founder of the

Wilmette-based JJsList.com, a site that reviews how North Shore businesses serve

the needs of the disabled. “We really hope this is going to force Illinois'

hand and make it kick its very bad addiction to institutions as places to

warehouse people with disabilities.â€

Hanley said it’s actually cheaper to care for

people on a local basis. She said the average cost for a disabled person to live

in a state-funded institution is around $150,000 per year. In a smaller group

home, that price drops to around $60,000 a year.

For others, it’s about recognizing disabled

individuals as human beings.

“It’s really about communities becoming

integrated and not labeling people as ‘others,’†said Gail Schecter,

executive director of the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs.

“Everyone has assets, even 'labeled' people, like people with disabilities.

They’ll be able to become citizens of the community in the truest sense of the

word.â€

http://wilmette.patch.com/articles/local-advocates-applaud-state-funding-options\

-for-disabled-adults-3

Burr Ridge Patch Editor Wu contributed to

this story.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly

identified the type of decision that a U.S. District Court made. In fact, a

consent agreement was reached between the parties and the judge approved the

terms.

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