Four Chicago-area residents with mobility disabilities filed a federal class-action lawsuit Wednesday alleging the city has failed to make its sidewalks, curb ramps and other public pedestrian ways accessible to people living with mobility disabilities.
The lawsuit claims the city is riddled with “deteriorated, cracked, crumbling, sunken, uplifted, uneven,” sidewalks, crosswalks, curb ramps and other pedestrian passages.
It specifically alleges that the city is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, a landmark law enacted in 1990 that requires cities to ensure people living with mobility disabilities have equal access to public ways and buildings. It also alleges the city is violating Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which prohibits discrimination based on disability.
One of the plaintiffs includes Cherlnell Lane, a Washington Park resident who has herniated discs, neuropathy and other conditions that have required her to use a power wheelchair for more than 10 years.
“Across Chicago, sidewalks and crosswalks are difficult, if not impossible to cross,” Lane said in a statement. “As a wheelchair user, I have been forced to ride in the street, I have been cussed at, and I even had a driver play chicken with me. I am a part of this suit, not only for myself, not only for the disabled community, but for all the residents of Chicago. We all have to walk or roll down the sidewalk, and there needs to be a better system in place to fix these unlawful barriers.”
A spokesperson for the city’s Law Department declined to comment, saying it had yet not been served with the complaint and that the agency does not comment on pending litigation.
The city settled a similar lawsuit 20 years ago, which required the city to spend millions of dollars to install new curb ramps, however, those have also begun to deteriorate and are in need of repair, according to the lawsuit.
Iliana Rivera Haven is another plaintiff who lives on the Near West Side and has used a power wheelchair for about 10 years after using a manual wheelchair. Images of her neighborhood show curb ramps filled with rain water and other areas with sunken and cracked sidewalks.
“Without accessible, safe sidewalks, people with mobility disabilities cannot fully and actively participate in our society. We need [safe sidewalks] to go to work, attend school, go to church, visit family and friends, and enjoy our city,” Haven said in a statement.
The lawsuit also claims the city has not implemented a “coordinated, proactive system to maintain its pedestrian rights of way and relies, instead, on complaint-based, reactive, and ineffective programs.”
The city’s 311 system shows more than 20,000 requests for sidewalk fixes have been open for more than a year, and another more than 6,000 requests have been open for more than three years, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit seeks a judgment requiring the city to ensure all sidewalks, curb ramps, and other pedestrian passages are maintained to allow access for people with mobility disabilities.
A court date has not yet been scheduled in the case.