As many of you know I was appointed to the Northeastern Illinois Public Transit Task
Force by Governor Quinn last August. It was my pleasure to serve on this Task Force
and work with a remarkable group of individuals also appointed by the Governor. The
Task Force assignment was to make recommendations as to “how the Northeastern
Illinois Transit Agencies can improve their operations, repair the damage done to the
public trust, and modernize the transit system for the people who depend upon these
systems to get them to work, school, home and other destinations.”
I believe I was appointed to serve as the voice of people with disabilities and the
importance of adopting “universal access” as a key recommendation. I am pleased to
report to you that the report and recommendations not only reflect “universal access”
but also include including people with disabilities on governing and advisory boards. I
stressed the point that accessibility of public transit is not an afterthought but that
accessibility must be ingrained in the very culture of public transit at every level.
Monday was our last meeting and we approved the Final Report and
Recommendations. Read Transit Report.
It is now up to the Governor and members of the Illinois General Assembly to act upon
those recommendations.
I was honored to be a member of the Northeastern Illinois Public Transit Task Force.
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@www.thearcofil.org
