Chicago Residents Sue City Over Inaccessible Sidewalks

Four Chicago-area residents with disabilities filed a class action lawsuit against the city, “challenging its widespread and ongoing failure to make its sidewalks, curb ramps, and other public pedestrian rights of way accessible to people with mobility disabilities.”

According to a press release from Disability Rights Advocates, the suit charges that the city has failed to use a “coordinated, proactive system” to maintain accessibility in its rights-of-way and relies too heavily on a reactive, complaint-based system to make improvements.

One plaintiff, Kevin Sullivan, a suburban resident who regularly commutes into the city, said, “I chose to be a part of this class action because this city is built on Daniel Burnham’s idea of public spaces being accessible to all, and I ultimately wish for it to finally fulfill that promise.”

After a similar lawsuit two decades ago, the city agreed to install more curb ramps, but without a system for maintenance, much of this infrastructure has now fallen into disrepair. “Access barriers such as these make it difficult—if not impossible—for people who use wheelchairs, canes, scooters, and walkers to travel freely and participate equally in public life. These barriers impede travel, as people with mobility disabilities must find alternative accessible routes, use longer routes, or forego travel to difficult-to-reach locations. The barriers also create risks of injury or even death, as people often have no choice but to travel in the street with vehicular traffic.”