At the core of how independent living was founded as a movement by Ed Roberts is advocacy.  The DuPage Center for Independent Living offers two types of advocacy.

Individual Advocacy

We assist individuals with disabilities and provide them the skills and information they need to advocate for themselves.  From helping someone advocate for reasonable accommodations on the job, to providing assistance so that individuals get the transportation services they are entitled to so they can move about the community, to providing information on housing resources, we assist individuals in a variety of different ways to advocate for what they need.

Community and Systems Advocacy

Our center works with a variety of individuals, organizations and Government entities in DuPage County to affect change in the community.  Through these Community and Systems Advocacy efforts, we help bring about a more accessible and welcoming place for individuals with disabilities.  Some positive changes that have come about as a result of our Community and Systems Advocacy efforts are:

At the heart of advocacy and political involvement is voting.  As a partner in the Illinois Disability Vote Project, we work hard to ensure individuals with disabilities both are registered to vote and get out and vote on election day.  If you are not registered to vote, either contact our center to schedule an appointment to register or Click here to Download a Registration Form (PDF)

Do you know who the State Legislators, Members of Congress and Senators are that represent DuPage County?  Click here to find out.  If you want to find out who your legislators are, go to www.ilga.gov and click on "Legislator Lookup."  You can search by district, by legislator's last name or using your mailing address.

www.ilga.gov is also the place to go to learn about state legislative activity.  You can search for Illinois House or Senate bills by bill number or by keywords.  You can also learn who is on various House and Senate Committees and much more.

Want to know what Congress is up too?  Go to thomas.loc.gov and where you can look up Federal legislation, find out who your members of congress are and how to contact them, get information on how your representative voted on a particular issue and much more.

Finally, don't forget about the DuPage County Board and your local community government.  The County Board has a Chairperson and 18 Members elected from six districts.  To find out which district you are in, either contact the County Board offices at 630-407-6000 or Click here to view information about the board including a District map.

You say, OK, how do I learn what the legislative issues are that I need to advocate on?  The DuPage Center for Independent Living distributes information on important advocacy issues via an e-mail list.  You can join this list by Sending Pat Byrne an e-mail. Include your name, e-mail address and the word "Advocacy" in the e-mail subject line.  

Home
 

      General Information:    yvonne_dupagecil@sbcglobal.net
                  Webmaster:    kim_dupagecil@sbcglobal.net
                 Last modified:  April 20, 2007