“We are encouraged by the City’s early progress and grateful for the Independent Monitor’s careful, transparent assessment,” said Rachel M. Weisberg, Directing Attorney at Disability Rights Advocates.
Chicago, IL — One year ago, a federal court ordered Chicago to install thousands of accessible pedestrian signals (APS) over the next 10 years, resolving a years-long legal battle by blind and low vision pedestrians for safe and equitable streets. Last week, the court-appointed Independent Monitor issued his first annual report evaluating Chicago’s implementation.
Throughout the 93-page report, the Monitor documents the significant progress Chicago made during the first year of implementation. The City installed APS at 78 intersections—eight more than required during the first year. The City has also taken important steps to build the infrastructure needed for long-term success, including a public APS website where community members can submit requests for APS installation and maintenance and track those requests, and a Community Advisory Committee, according to the report.
At the same time, the report makes clear that significant work remains. The Monitor found that none of the 103 inspected intersections were fully compliant with technical APS requirements, and that many devices had placement, functionality, maintenance, or accessibility deficiencies that must be corrected for APS to provide reliable, safe, and independent access for blind and low vision pedestrians.
“We are encouraged by the City’s early progress and grateful for the Independent Monitor’s careful, transparent assessment,” said Rachel M. Weisberg, Directing Attorney at Disability Rights Advocates. “Yet the report underscores that installation alone is not enough. The City must ensure that APS also be properly installed, programmed, and maintained promptly.”
The Monitor’s report also recommends further improvements, including stronger documentation, clearer public reporting, additional training for City staff and contractors, prompt correction of deficiencies, and continued coordination for technical compliance.
“I am delighted that the city of Chicago has made such progress during this first year, and am looking forward to working on improvements that will make the accessible signal program even better,” said plaintiff Ann Brash.
DRA and Proskauer Rose LLP filed this class action in 2019 on behalf of the American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago and blind individual plaintiffs, challenging Chicago’s failure to provide meaningful access to pedestrian signal information for blind and low vision pedestrians. The U.S. Department of Justice later joined the case. In 2023, the Court held that Chicago violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Rehabilitation Act, and in 2025 the Court entered a Remedial Plan requiring widespread APS installation, maintenance, prioritization, community engagement, and independent monitoring.
“The Monitor’s findings confirm why continuing oversight is essential,” said Eddie Young, Senior Counsel at Proskauer. “The City has shown that progress is possible. The next phase must focus on quality, consistency, transparency, and timely correction of problems so that APS installations deliver real-world access at every covered intersection. We will continue to monitor the City’s progress to ensure compliance with every requirement of the Remedial Order.”
Disability Rights Advocates
With offices in New York, California, and Chicago, Disability Rights Advocates is the leading nonprofit disability rights legal center in the nation. Its mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities nationwide. DRA represents people with all types of disabilities in complex, system-changing, class action cases. DRA is proud to have upheld the promise of the ADA since our inception. Thanks to DRA’s precedent-setting work, people with disabilities across the country have dramatically improved access to education, health care, employment, transportation, disaster preparedness planning, voting, and housing. For more information, visit dralegal.org.
Proskauer
Proskauer is an elite global law firm with more than 900 lawyers in key financial centers in the United States, Europe, South America, and Asia. Our clients include many of the world’s leading businesses, including asset managers, banks, listed corporations, and private companies. We have deep expertise in several of the fastest-growing and dynamic segments of the market, including sports, technology, life sciences, and health care. We represent hundreds of asset managers across a wide spectrum of sectors and strategies, including private equity, private credit, hedge, real assets, secondaries, and capital solutions. For more information, visit proskauer.com.
The American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago (ABCMC)
The American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago is a nonprofit organization seeking to promote the independence and dignity of persons with visual impairments. A local chapter of the Illinois state affiliate of the American Council of the Blind, the American Council of the Blind of Metropolitan Chicago is one of Chicago’s leading consumer organizations of and for people who are blind or low-vision.
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