On October 3, 2005, the Council for Disability Rights, in Chicago, brought this class action in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the City of Chicago under 42 U.S.C. §12101. Plaintiffs also included individuals with visual or mobility impairments who live, work and for travel in Chicago, Illinois. Represented by private counsel, they sought injunctive relief to require the city to properly install and maintain sidewalks, curb cuts and ramps necessary for the mobility of persons with disabilities.

Plaintiffs alleged the Chicago violated Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. §12101 et seq. (the "ADA"), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability "under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance." 29 U.S.C. 794(a). Plaintiffs challenge the Chicago's pattern and practice of: (1) failing to properly install or maintain curb cuts and ramps when resurfacing streets and altering or installing city sidewalks; (2) failing to install all necessary curb cuts and ramps at a particular intersection when resurfacing streets and altering or installing city sidewalks; and (3) failing to properly install, repair or maintain city sidewalks. Plaintiffs sought declaratory and injunctive relief.

In September 2007, the parties settled. The settlement agreement provided: (1) The city of Chicago will install only curb ramps and sidewalks that meet or exceed the specifications of the Federal ADA guidelines; (2) For the next 5 years the city will spend $50,000,000 ($10,000,000 per year) in new money to repair and replace curb ramps and sidewalks in high traffic areas which are not on the city's schedule for repair or replacement. The city will also continue to spend approximately eighteen million dollars ($18,000,000) each year installing curb ramps and sidewalks as a part of the City's annual resurfacing work; (3) The city shall install curb ramps into intersections of each cross street at its intersection with the alteration or resurfacing, so that the altered or resurfaced intersections are fully accessible to mobility-impaired persons with disabilities.

The Court entered the settlement as a final order, retaining jurisdiction to enforce its terms. This is the largest Title II ADA settlement ever.

Xin Chen - 06/13/2011


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