The official policies of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois are established every year with annual resolutions adopted at the state convention.

The resolutions committee meets early during the convention. Each proposed resolution is read, spoken for by the authoring member, considered, and then ultimately withdrawn or recommended for passage or disapproval by the Convention.

Resolution 2022-01: Regarding 'Voting Irregularities That Subvert Nonvisual Access

WHEREAS, in 2002, Congress enacted the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and the President signed this legislation into law; and

WHEREAS, this legislation was meant to make voting across this country easier, more accurate, and nonvisually accessible for persons who are blind or print-disabled; and

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) worked with local election authorities across the country, as well as makers of voting hardware and software, to make these systems nonvisually accessible; and

WHEREAS, for the first time in American history, these systems held forth the promise of nonvisual access, whereby blind people could vote independently and privately, truly by secret ballot; and

WHEREAS, election authorities across Illinois, such as the Chicago Board of Elections and Cook County Board of Elections, consulted with communities of people with disabilities, including the National Federation of the Blind; and

WHEREAS, blind and other print-disabled people have used these machines successfully in national, state, and local elections; and

WHEREAS, despite these groundbreaking gains, after twenty years blind persons still sometimes have difficulty voting in a nonvisually accessible manner, either because the equipment fails or because officials at polling places do not know how to activate the audio output; and

WHEREAS, most recently, blind people reported a number of such failures when voting in the Illinois Primary on Tuesday, June 28, 2022, in Chicago and in suburban Cook County: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in Convention Assembled this Thirtieth Day of October, 2022, in the City of Naperville, Illinois, that this organization demand that election authorities do a better job of ensuring that the hardware and software of these voting machines work properly, that polling staff be trained effectively to set up the audio option on these machines and to troubleshoot these machines when they fail, and that blind people test the equipment in advance of elections whenever possible; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Organization call upon election authorities to work with the National Federation of the Blind to ensure that blind people truly can vote privately and independently.

Resolution 2022-02: Regarding the passage of S.B. 829

WHEREAS, the casting of a secret ballot is a fundamental right for all Americans, including those who are blind, low vision or print disabled; and

WHEREAS, paper ballots are inherently inaccessible for blind, low vision and print disabled voters; and

WHEREAS, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and cases affirmed by the state and federal courts require that the right to cast a secret and independent ballot should extend to all voting platforms including vote by mail; and

WHEREAS, prior to the 2020 general election, Illinois had no way for blind, low vision, and print disabled voters to mark their absentee ballots privately and independently; and

WHEREAS, on April 8, 2022, as a direct result of the advocacy efforts of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois, Equip for Equality, Access Living Chicago, Reform for Illinois, and the Illinois Council of the Blind, the Illinois General Assembly passed S.B. 829, requiring that voters with print disabilities be provided an accessible way to mark their vote-by-mail ballot using access technology, such as screen reading software and/or Braille devices in the November 8, 2022 general election and all subsequent elections; and

WHEREAS, Senator Julie Morrison and Representative Katie Stuart cosponsored SB 829 ensuring that blind, low vision and print disabled voters could mark their absentee ballots privately and independently; and

WHEREAS, on May 13, 2022, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the measure into law: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in Convention Assembled this Thirtieth Day of October, 2022, in the city of Naperville, Illinois, that this organization commend the efforts of Senator Julie Morrison and Representative Katie Stewart and the members of the Illinois General Assembly for passing S.B. 829; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization also commend Governor J.B. Pritzker for signing S.B. 829 into law on May 13, 2022.

Resolution 2022-03: Regarding Consent Culture

WHEREAS, Consent culture affirms and normalizes the following in both social and sexual interactions: that each individual has bodily autonomy, that the action of asking for consent is an expected practice, that boundaries stated in response are to be respected, that each person has the right to choose what is comfortable for them, and that the lack of consent or a clear and affirmative response constitutes a “no”; and

WHEREAS, consent violations, sexual misconduct, and sexual violence affect everyone, including blind and low-vision individuals; and

WHEREAS, The Climate Assessment commissioned by the National Federation of the Blind and conducted by the Rape Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN) shows that of the respondents:

• 58.8 percent believe that sexual misconduct is somewhat of a problem or a big problem within the NFB,
• 55.7 percent have concerns about power dynamics,
• 53.1 percent have concerns about difficulty communicating, understanding, and respecting interpersonal boundaries,
• 46.1 percent have a lack of understanding about consent, and
• 48 percent are confused about what sexual misconduct is; and

WHEREAS, many of these areas of concern reported in the RAINN survey are also concerns for the entire blindness community generally, including interactions not associated with Federation activities; and

WHEREAS, blind people are not only physically and mentally harmed when they experience sexual misconduct or consent violations within the blindness community, they are also restricted from reaching their full potential and living the lives they want in their quest to receive necessary blindness services; and

WHEREAS, the National Federation of the Blind is the leader in advocating for, creating cultural change for, and promoting bodily autonomy for the blind, and is actively working to establish a culture of consent through advocacy, education, curriculum development and incorporation, consent language development, and the implementation of accountability practices: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in Convention assembled this thirtieth day of October, 2022, in the City of Naperville, Illinois, that this organization call on all providers of services for the blind in Illinois to join the Federation in incorporating consent education and language into their curricula, policies, and procedures to foster a more general understanding and confidence in the blindness community around matters of consent and bodily autonomy.

Resolution 2022-04: Regarding Discriminatory Driver’s License Requirements in Non-Transportation-Related Jobs

WHEREAS, for generations blind employees have worked effectively in jobs that require travel by using mass transit and other forms of public and private transportation; and

WHEREAS, the job postings of many employers in Illinois state that the position in question requires eligible applicants hold a valid driver’s license, even though the essential functions of the position do not involve operating a motor vehicle; and

WHEREAS, Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Article 2 of the Illinois Human Rights Act prohibit employers from requiring a driver’s license unless driving is one of the essential functions of the position; and

WHEREAS, driver’s license requirements discriminate against blind people as a class because blindness makes a person ineligible to receive a driver’s license; and

WHEREAS, modern job application software can be configured to screen out applicants who do not have a driver’s license, automating blanket discrimination against the blind and foreclosing any opportunity to discuss alternative transportation arrangements or reasonable job requirement modifications if those are necessary; and

WHEREAS, the Illinois Department of Human Rights is dedicated to preventing and remedying employment discrimination and advancing equal employment opportunity; and

Whereas, eliminating blind or other disabled job applicants from consideration based on failure or inability to drive where driving is not an essential part of the job is discriminatory: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in Convention assembled this thirtieth day of October, 2022, in the City of Naperville, Illinois, that this organization strongly urge that the Illinois Department of Human Rights issue a rule which clearly prohibits employers from requiring a driver’s license when driving is not part of the essential functions of a job; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization urge the Illinois Department of Human Rights to issue a rule which prohibits the use of automated tools that deny blind or other disabled applicants fair consideration of their applications based on discriminatory criteria including, but not limited to, the failure to maintain a license to operate a motor vehicle; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this organization consider legislation limiting and regulating the circumstances in which failure or inability to maintain a license to operate a motor vehicle can be used in employment decisions.

Resolution 2022-05: Regarding Accessible Ballot Return

WHEREAS, the casting of a secret ballot is a fundamental right for all Americans, including those who are blind, low vision or print disabled; and

WHEREAS, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and cases affirmed by the state and federal courts require that the right to cast a secret ballot should extend to all voting platforms including vote by mail; and

WHEREAS, SEVERAL STATES, including, but not limited to , Hawaii, Colorado, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and West Virginia have passed legislation allowing blind, low vision and print disabled voters to cast a vote by mail ballot privately and independently; And

WHEREAS, the Illinois Board of Elections took a significant step in making accessible voting by mail for the 2020 general election and the 2022 Illinois primary a reality by offering the services of a voting platform to all county boards at no charge to those counties; and

WHEREAS, as a result of the direct advocacy of the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois, Equip for Equality, Access Living Chicago, the Illinois Council of the Blind, and Reform for Illinois, on April 8, 2022, the Illinois General Assembly passed SB 829, mandating Accessible Ballot Delivery for the November 8, 2022 general election and all subsequent elections; and

Whereas, On May 13, 2022 Governor J.B. Pritzker signed the measure into law; and

WHEREAS, Illinois’ blind, low vision and print disabled voters lack an accessible and independent means of requesting an absentee ballot; and

Whereas, Illinois’ blind, low vision and print disabled voters do not receive the same information as nondisabled voters about updating their voter information or notice that there is a problem with the signature; and

WHEREAS, Illinois’ blind, low vision and print disabled voters still lack an accessible way to return their ballots: Now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the National Federation of the Blind of Illinois in Convention assembled this thirtieth day of October, 2022 in the city of Naperville, Illinois, that this organization strongly urge that the Illinois General Assembly pass legislation That provides for electronic return of ballots once marked by the print disabled voter so that all print disabled voters have the same right to complete privacy during the voting process as all other Illinois voters; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that such legislation provide that all election authorities shall provide an accessible means of requesting an absentee ballot, including but not limited to an accessible website and forms that are in compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 and higher; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the election authorities shall provide blind, low vision or print disabled voters the same opportunity as nondisabled voters to update voter information and be notified of any signature irregularities.