Tips for Travelers with Disabilities

Most disabilities shouldn't stop anyone from traveling in the U.S. Thanks to provisions in the Americans with Disabilities Act, most public places are required to comply with disability-friendly regulations. Almost all public establishments (including hotels, restaurants, museums, etc., but not including certain National Historic Landmarks), and at least some modes of public transportation provide accessible entrances and other facilities for those with disabilities.

Pace, the company that runs bus routes between Chicago and its suburbs, offers paratransit services throughout the area for travelers with disabilities. Visitors must be registered with a similar program in their home city. For information, call tel. 800/606-1282 or visit www.pacebus.com.

Several Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) El stations on each line have elevators. Call the CTA at tel. 312/836-7000 for a list of accessible stations. All city buses are equipped to accommodate wheelchairs.

For specific information on facilities for people with disabilities, contact the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities, 121 N. LaSalle St., Room 1104, Chicago, IL 60602 (tel. 312/744-7050 for voice, or 312/744-4964 for TTY; www.cityofchicago.org/disabilities). The office is staffed from 8:30am to 4:30pm Monday through Friday.

Horizons for the Blind, 2 N. Williams St., Crystal Lake, IL 60014 (tel. 815/444-8800), is a social service agency that provides information about local hotels equipped with Braille signage and cultural attractions that offer Braille signage and special tours. The Illinois Relay Center enables hearing- and speech-impaired TTY callers to call individuals or businesses without TTYs 24 hours a day. Calls are confidential and billed at regular phone rates. Call TTY at tel. 800/526-0844 or voice 800/526-0857. The city of Chicago operates a 24-hour information service for hearing-impaired callers with TTY equipment; call tel. 312/744-8599.