Save the Date: The 2006 ADA Symposium will be held April 10-12, 2006 in St. Louis, Missouri. More information will be available soon. If questions please contact the Great Lakes Center at (800) 949-4232 (V/TTY) or via our on-line contact form.

This new on-line course provides information that explains how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to businesses in ten short lessons. Putting these lessons into practice will assist businesses in complying with the ADA and show how compliance welcomes a whole new group of customers to purchase goods, products, and services. The course will also demonstrate that making businesses more accessible and welcoming to people with disabilities is not as difficult as business owners think.

The U.S. Access Board is undertaking an initiative to promote accessible design in the education of architects, interior designers, engineers and others. As a first step in this endeavor, the Board held a forum to get advice from various experts on how it should proceed. Specifically, the Board sought input on how this effort can be advanced through education curricula, design competitions and awards, and outreach to colleges, universities, and accrediting organizations. For further information on this initiative, contact Jim Pecht at pecht@access-board.gov

The U.S. Department of Justice has issued a new fact sheet on Project Civic Access. The fact sheet provides background information on the origins of the program and also includes the criteria used to determine where investigations will be under taken under the Project. Resources are also provided for state and local governmental entities covered by Title II of the ADA.

The ACA is a cooperative, broad-based partnership seeking to insure access for individuals with disabilities to businesses located in Will and Grundy counties in Illinois. The alliance is a coalition between the Will-Grundy Center for Independent Living located in Joliet, IL, persons with disabilities, local municipalities, businesses, the Joliet Region Chamber of Commerce & Industry, professional trade organizations, media representatives and civic leaders. The alliance was organized in 2003 with a 3 part mission to:

• Improve voluntary compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)
• Provide businesses with the resources necessary to improve access and comply with the ADA
• Continue to advocate for a barrier free society