We had a great Executive Forum meeting yesterday. Thank you for the excellent
questions for the Court Monitor. We were able to get through most of them. I can say
Ronnie Cohn brings great experience to her role here in Illinois as the Ligas Court
Monitor.
Ronnie Cohn will be a featured speaker at our annual Leadership Conference,
February 4-5, 2016 at the Lisle Hilton and at our State Convention in April. Ronnie’s
email address is Ligas.Monitor@gmail.com.
Below is a narrative on her career.
Also at the meeting was Laura Miller, Attorney with Equip for Equality, who also
covered Ligas and other disability consent decrees they are involved with. Laura and
all of the people at Equip are outstanding advocates. The Arc is grateful for their
recent intervention with the courts which is making sure providers are paid for their
services. Thank you very much!
Lastly, Phil Milsk, The Arc’s Governmental Affairs Consultant, brought us up to date
on disability legislation and the state of the state budget!
Ronnie Cohn, Ligas Monitor
I began my career at just about the time that the first class action lawsuit was initiated
on behalf of people with developmental disabilities who were living in a deplorable
institutional setting. My first job was as a direct support person in a classroom setting
with people who had moved out of the institution, the Willowbrook State School. For the
next ten years I worked with Willowbrook class members in direct support, supervisory
and then administrative positions in the New York City chapter of the NYS ARC. It was
a life-changing experience for me and set my professional path for the next thirty years.
Tony Paulauski Executive Director
The Arc of Illinois
20901 S. LaGrange Rd. Suite 209
Frankfort, IL 60423
815-464-1832 (OFFICE)
815-464-1832 (CELL)
Tony@thearcofil.org
