Equip for Equality provides an array of legal advocacy services that empower individuals with disabilities, strengthening their ability to advocate effectively on their own behalf. We partner with community groups and public and private agencies to bring disability rights education seminars to people with disabilities and their families in their neighborhoods. When individuals’ rights are violated and self advocacy is unlikely to prove effective, the organization can directly represent the individual in negotiations, administrative proceedings, or court. In addition to individual representation, we also engage in impact litigation.
Equip for Equality serves as a catalyst for social change, breaking down barriers that prevent children and adults with disabilities from participating in all aspects of community living. We challenge policies and practices by both government and the private sector that discriminate against people with disabilities and deny them their rights to self-determination and community integration.
Mission
Equip for Equality’s mission is to advance the human and civil rights of children and adults with disabilities in Illinois. Equip for Equality is a statewide agency with offices in Chicago, Springfield, Carbondale and Moline.
Areas of Practice
Our primary goal is to advance the civil and human rights of people with disabilities. Consequently, we are experienced in a wide variety of issues relating to this goal, including abuse & neglect, community integration, discrimination, ADA rights, employment, misuse of restraints and seclusion, rights in institutions, self-determination, guardianship, and special education access.
We also receive funding to work on special projects that allow us to focus on specific needs in the disability community such as: assistive technology, rights of social security beneficiaries, rights of individuals with traumatic brain injuries, and voting rights.
Major Achievements
Borys v. Cook County – In our most recent major achievement, Cook County agreed to pay $4.75 million to compensate Michael Borys for severe injuries he sustained in Cook County Jail. Michael, a brain cancer survivor, had a seizure and fell from a top bunk in a Cook County Jail dorm resulting in a permanent traumatic brain injury and complete loss of vision in one eye. Michael endured two brain surgeries and a third surgery from skull fracture-related sinus infections. But Michael should never have been in that top bunk. With a history of a seizure disorder, the County doctor ordered that Michael be placed in a lower bunk. Tragically, the County did not communicate that mandate to jail staff in time and Michael was not given anti-seizure medication. By the time the jail staff learned of the lower-bunk mandate, Michael was in a coma in the hospital. We took on the case with a private attorney and eventually Cook County agreed to pay Michael $4.75 million, which was put in a trust so that Michael has the supports he will now need for the rest of his life.
Ligas v. Norwood – Our team represented people with developmental disabilities living in large, private, state-funded institutions who wanted to move into a community environment. The judge ruled the state must provide institution residents who want community placement with an individualized, independent evaluation, and the opportunity to live in the community with appropriate services. Through this case and the subsequent Williams v. Quinn and Colbert v. Quinn cases, we have helped over ten thousand people with disabilities exercise their right to live in the community of their choosing.
Callahan v. IHSA – Mary Kate Callahan was an accomplished high school swimmer who competed nationally and internationally, but because she uses a wheelchair, she was barred from meets sponsored by the Illinois High School Association. Equip for Equality and the Illinois Attorney General filed a joint federal lawsuit on behalf Mary Kate and other student athletes with disabilities. We negotiated a settlement that allowed Mary Kate to participate in her senior year swimming and track and field seasons.
What Sets Us Apart
Because no other nonprofit in our state provides legal services for people with disabilities on such a broad range of issues, Equip for Equality is often the only legal resource for people with disabilities. We are also the federally mandated Protection & Advocacy System for Illinois, which gives us broad powers to independently monitor public and private institutions and programs serving people with disabilities.
Why Do We Need Help?
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other reforms meant to level the playing field for people with disabilities have improved accessibility and achieved other important changes in society. Despite these advances, however, many people with disabilities are still routinely denied their rights in education, employment, housing, government programs and in other important ways. Others find their basic needs are neglected or that they are physically or emotionally abused in institutions and in their own homes. Disability rights have come a long way since the introduction of the ADA, but there are still many barriers that need to broken down. Our legal interns serve a critical role in supporting our mission. To contact us about internship opportunities and opportunities for post graduate fellowships, please visit our website: https://www.equipforequality.org/about/contact-us/pro-bono-opportunities-volunteering/