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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
RECOGNIZING JULY AS DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH IN COOK COUNTY
WHEREAS, Disability Pride Month is observed each July to commemorate the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), signed into law on July 26, 1990, and to celebrate the achievements, resilience, culture, and contributions of people with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, the ADA, which prohibits discrimination based on disability, was enacted into federal civil rights law after 36 years of advocacy; and
WHEREAS, Disability Pride Month promotes the principles of inclusion, accessibility, self-determination, and equal opportunity, while recognizing that people with disabilities are integral members of every community and contribute significantly to the social, cultural, civic, and economic vitality of Cook County; and
WHEREAS, disability can be a part of anyone's life, whether a person is born with a disability or develops one later in life; and
WHEREAS, according to U.S. Census reporting from 2020-2024, approximately 11.3% of the population, or 587,540 Cook County residents, report having a disability; and
WHEREAS, Cook County is committed to advancing equity and ensuring that residents with disabilities have meaningful access to housing, employment, healthcare, education, transportation, civic participation, and justice; and
WHEREAS, inspired by the civil rights movement, the independent living movement began in the 1970s and advanced the rights and self-determination of people with disabilities; and
WHEREAS, in Olmstead v. L.C. (1999), the United States Supreme Court recognized that the unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities constitutes discrimination and affirmed the right of individuals with disabilities to receive services in the most integrated setting appropriate to their needs, a landmark civil rights decision often described as the disability community's equivalent of Brown v. Board of Education; and
WHEREAS, the principles established i...
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