American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago vs. City of Chicago

On September 23, 2019, DRA and Proskauer Rose LLP, on behalf of the American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago and three individual plaintiffs, filed a landmark class action lawsuit against the Chicago Department of Transportation. The lawsuit alleges that Chicago ignores blind pedestrians in its pedestrian planning, sometimes ignoring their safety needs and sometimes actively making it harder for them to cross streets safely and independently, all in violation of federal law. In March 2022, a federal judge certified a class comprising all blind or low-vision pedestrians who use the City of Chicago’s signalized pedestrian intersections.
In particular, Chicago has refused to install pedestrian traffic signals that convey street crossing information to blind people through noises and/or vibrations from pedestrian signal poles. Chicago has only 11 intersections with such accessible pedestrian signals (“APSs”), out of 2,672 intersections with pedestrian signals for people who can see. This number—less than half of one percent—may be the worst of any major metropolitan area in the United States.
Chicago estimates that it will soon begin to install APSs at a rate of 15-25 intersections per year. That’s a replacement rate of less than one percent per year. At that rate, it would take over a hundred years to replace all of the City’s blind-unfriendly pedestrian signals with APSs.
Because blind pedestrians cannot see pedestrian traffic lights or oncoming traffic, they usually listen for moving traffic to know when to cross the street. However, this may not work well in Chicago when there is dense urban foot, vehicle traffic, and background noise, and when elevated trains running overhead can make it impossible to hear what is happening on the street.
Plaintiffs do not seek money damages. Their goal is to ensure that, with a comprehensive system of APSs, the city’s sidewalks will be safer for pedestrians who are blind, deaf-blind, and low-vision.
Press Releases
Media Coverage
- March 21, 2022: Smart Cities Dive
Toyota’s Woven Planet, NYU Create Open-Source Dataset to Improve VPR Tech for Accessibility, Autonomy - March 21, 2022: Legal Reader
Blind Pedestrians Achieve Class Certification in Suit Over Exclusion from Chicago’s Pedestrian Safety Program - March 17, 2022: Chicago Reader
Lawsuit to Force Chicago to Retrofit Intersections for Vision-Impaired Pedestrians Advances - March 17, 2022: Lexblog
Proskauer Secures Class Certification for Visually Impaired Chicagoans - March 15, 2022: WTTW
City Facing Class Action Suit Over Lack of Accessible Signals for Blind Pedestrians - March 12, 2022: USA Today
More Cities Are Embracing Accessible Pedestrian Signals but Blind Americans Say It’s Not Enough - March 8, 2022: Cook County Record
Judge OKs Class Action Demanding Chicago Install Devices to Help Blind Pedestrians at Intersections - March 8, 2022: Chicago Law Bulletin
Class Certified in Suit over Crossing Signals for the Blind - March 7, 2022: Bloomberg Law
Blind Chicago Resident Class Proceeds in Crosswalk Access Suit - April 14, 2021: Smart Cities Dive
DOJ Joins Lawsuit against Chicago for Lack of Accessible Crosswalks - April 12, 2021: WTTW
Justice Department Joins Lawsuit Over Accessibility of Chicago Crosswalks - April 12, 2021: Law Street
DOJ Wants to Join ADA Suit Against Chicago for Discrimination - April 9, 2021: Politico
Illinois Playbook - April 9, 2021: Roads & Bridges
Discrimination Suit Brought against Chicago over Pedestrians with Visual Disabilities - April 9, 2021: Chicago Daily Law Bulletin
Suit Seeks More Accessible Street Crossings - April 9, 2021: Streetsblog Chicago
DOJ Lights a Fire under Chicago Officials to Speed Up Accessible Pedestrian Signal Installation - April 9, 2021: WBBM
Justice Department Joins Lawsuit against City of Chicago Regarding Accessible Pedestrian Signals at Intersections - April 9, 2021: NBC5 Chicago
Chicago Lacks Crosswalk Signals for Visually Impaired - April 8, 2021: CBS2 Chicago
DOJ Moves to Intervene in Lawsuit against City of Chicago Claiming Crosswalk Signals Are Not Accessible for the Visually Impaired - April 8, 2021: U.S. Department of Justice
Justice Department Moves to Intervene in Disability Discrimination Suit Against City of Chicago Regarding Pedestrians with Visual Disabilities - September 26, 2019: Chicago Now
In Light of the Lawsuit Chicago Is Facing – A Few Thoughts on Audible Traffic Signals for the Blind - September 24, 2019: WTTW
Class-Action Suit Says Chicago’s Lack of Blind-Accessible Crossing Signals Violates ADA - September 24, 2019: Chicago Tribune
Chicago Has 2,672 Intersections with Traffic Signals, but Only 11 Feature Sounds to Help Blind Pedestrians, a New Lawsuit Alleges - September 24, 2019: Smart Cities Dive
Disability Rights Group Sues Chicago over Pedestrian Signals - September 24, 2019: Streetsblog Chicago
Disability Rights Group Is Suing Chicago over Lack of Accessible Pedestrian Signals - September 24, 2019: Smart Cities World
Lawsuit for City of Chicago over Pedestrian Signal Accessibility - September 24, 2019: Curbed Chicago
Chicago Makes It Harder for Blind Pedestrians to Cross Streets Safely, Lawsuit Says - September 23, 2019: CBS2 Chicago
Group Files Lawsuit Against City Over Lack Of Accessible Crosswalk Signals