News Tribune - February 95

Donna Joerger News Tribune Columnist

There is no way better to spend a Saturday morning off work that to sleep late. But on the last Saturday of every month, I wake up with enthusiasm as I get ready to attend a monthly meeting in Ottawa. This meeting is for the Starved Rock Chapter in Region 5 of the Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois. The coalition is a nonprofit advocacy organization for individuals with disabilities. The president of SRC is G. Pat Riley from Ottawa. In the spring of 1993, Riley decided to search for advocacy and assistance because of his physical disability caused by Myasthenia Gravis and Ankylosing Spondylitis. He wrote to the congressmen, Gov. Jim Edgar, and even President Clinton. Finally, after discovering there was no help available, he decided to do his own research. He went to Congressman George Sangmeisters office, and Nancy Thorson referred him to Linda Hunt, the founder of Options, the Center for Independent Living in Kankakee. . . At our last meeting, we were informed about an important upcoming event in our area. The Statewide Independent Living Council, a planning body created by the 1992 Rehabilitation Act Amendments, will hold a public forum to access the needs of persons with disabilities. . . If the possibility of having a Center in our area becomes a reality, it will be a wonderful asset for all people with disabilities.
 

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