Statewide Independent Living
Council of Illinois

People with Disabilities, Employment & the Workplace:
A Ready-Reference Guide for Illinois Businesses

• Introduction  
• Legal Definitions of Disabilities  
• A Brief Definition of the Americans’ with Disabilities Act  
• Types of Disabilities  
• Using Words with Dignity  
• Helpful Hints for Interviewing  
• Making Reasonable Accommodations  
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)  
• Tax Incentives for Businesses  
• Resources  
• References 
• Authors & Funding

Introduction

Purpose

This Ready Reference Guide was designed with businesses in mind. It gives them a user-friendly way to have many of their questions answered regarding laws impacting people with disabilities, helpful interviewing techniques, information to assist in understanding "reasonable accommodations," as well as providing information on tax incentives for businesses who hire people with disabilities in Illinois.

Acknowledgements

This Ready Reference Guide for Businesses was funded from a U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration grant. The One-Stop Disability Resource Manual published by the Institute for Community Inclusion, at Children’s Hospital, Boston and the University of Massachusetts, Boston, was an invaluable resource for the authors as they wrote this manual.

Legal Definitions of Disability

This section examines the legal definitions of disability. For a broader look at what constitutes a disability see Types of Disabilities.

There is more than one legal definition of disability established under federal and state law. An individual may be "disabled" under the Americans with Disabilities Act but not by the Illinois Department of Human Services’ Office of Rehabilitation Services. Some laws specify that a person’s disability must meet or pass a specific threshold to qualify under that law. For example, not all people who have a heart condition qualify for services under some laws.

Below are examples of how different laws define disability.

Americans’ with Disabilities Act (ADA): (A) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; (B) a record of such an impairment; or (C) being regarded as having such an impairment.

Social Security Administration: A person must be unable to do any kind of substantial gainful work because of a physical or mental impairment (or a combination of impairments), which is expected to last at least 12 months, or to end in death.

Rehabilitation Act of 1973: A physical or mental impairment which for such an individual constitutes or results in a substantial impediment to employment; and can benefit in terms of an employment outcome from vocational rehabilitation services.

Workforce Investment Act: Under the Workforce Investment Act regulations, people with disabilities are defined using the ADA definition.

Reference: Institute for Community Inclusion’s One-Stop Disability Resource Manual.

The ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became law on July 26, 1990. Its purpose is to make society more open to people with disabilities. It is a civil rights law and is similar to the laws for people of color in that they ensure access to all aspects of society and prohibits discrimination. The ADA is divided into five (5) Titles:

Title I: Employment Regulations

Title I bans employers from discriminating based on disability. It applies to employers of fifteen (15) employees or more. Under this title, employers must:

• Provide protections during application, hiring, discharge, promotion, job training and other conditions of employment;
• Make "reasonable accommodations." A reasonable accommodation may include job restructuring and/or work site modifications (Find more on reasonable accommodations on page 10);
• Ensure advancement and wage equity, and other considerations.
• Post notices about the Act.

This title also requires employers to make decisions about new applicants and current employees based on an individual’s abilities, not disability labels.

Title II: Public Services Operated by State and Local Governments

Title II requires that state and local governments perform a self-evaluation and put together a transition plan that ensures access and reasonable accommodations to public services, programs and activities as well as public transportation systems.

In addition, new facilities, equipment, rail/bus/commuter facilities and services must be readily available and accessible to people with disabilities. It also requires that state and local governments provide comparable para-transit hours to people who cannot use existing fixed route systems.

Title III: Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities

Title III requires private entities that provide public services remove physical barriers, where readily achievable. It applies to all sizes of business, regardless of number of employees. It mandates that all new construction and building modifications be accessible, unless it is for a non-public activity of a private club or religious organization.

The ADA defines a public entity as a place that serves food or drink, provides lodging, education, entertainment, exhibits, recreation, fitness programs, or other public services. This includes public gathering places, grocers, bakeries, retail stores, gas stations, day care, social service centers, medical offices and facilities, banks, hotels, libraries, museums, parks, privately owned public transportation systems, schools, and just about every other private business or program that offers a service to the public.

Title IV: Telecommunications Relay Services for Individuals with Hearing and Speech-Impaired Disabilities

Title IV covers telephone communication. Phone companies must provide 24-hour relay services for people with hearing and speech impairments. Businesses that offer telephone services to the general public must also provide it to people who use devices for the deaf known as teletypewriters, or TTYs. In addition, it requires that if federal money pays for a public service announcement, it must be closed-captioned, for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The word business means a place that provides legal, medical, financial or insurance services, and the like.

Title V: Miscellaneous Provisions

Title V is a catchall section that addresses seven (7) other areas for people with disabilities including:

• Broader protection where the current law is stronger than the ADA;
• A prohibition against state immunity;
• The development of minimum accessibility design requirements;
• ADA technical assistance programs;
• An accessibility study of the National Wildlife Preserve system;
• Amendments to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and
• The limits of the ADA.

All state and local governments fall under the ADA, regardless of size.

Reference: Great Lakes ADA and IT Center: www.adagreatlakes.org.

Examples of Types of Disabilities

Disability is as unique a human characteristic as hair color or personality type. The degree to which a disability impacts a person’s life ranges from slight to significant. In some instances a person’s disability is invisible; in other instances, a person may have more than one disability. As a result, creating a list on the types of disabilities is difficult. Nonetheless, we want to give you some idea of the wide range of disabilities. (For the legal definitions, see section1 Legal Definitions of Disability.)

AIDS: AIDS stands for "Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome". AIDS is caused by the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). AIDS is the final and most serious stage of HIV disease, in which signs and symptoms of severe immune deficiency develop.

Blind/Visual Impairment: Blind refers to a total loss of vision. Visual impairment indicates partial sight.

Chemical Sensitivity: A reaction to environmental chemicals like cleaning supplies, smoke and/or perfumes.

Congenital Disability: A physical impairment existing since birth.

Deaf/Hard of Hearing: Deaf refers to a total loss of hearing. Hard of hearing refers to partial hearing loss ranging from slight to severe.

Developmental Disability: Any mental or physical disability that develops or occurs before a person’s 22nd birthday that continues indefinitely and in some instances substantially limits self-care, language, learning, mobility, self-direction, independent living or economic sufficiency.

Epilepsy: Term for various disorders marked by electrical disturbances of the central nervous system and typically manifested by seizures, which are involuntary muscular contractions.

Learning Disability: A disability affecting spoken or written language.

Mental Illness/Mental Disability: A psychiatric disability caused by a biological, physiological or psychological disorder or a chemical disorder of the brain.

Mental Retardation/Cognitive Disability: Condition causing significantly below-average intellectual functioning.

Motor Disability: Includes multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, Lou Gerhig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, ALS), cerebral palsy. A group of conditions resulting from damage to the central nervous system.

Paralysis/Spinal Cord Injury: Hemiplegia affects full or partial paralysis of one side of body caused by brain damage as a result of a disease, trauma or stroke. Paraplegia is a paralysis of lower half of body. It involves partial or total loss of function of both legs. Quadriplegia is paralysis of the body that involves partial or total loss of function in a person’s arms and legs.

Speech Impairment: Limited or difficult-to-understand speech patterns.

For more information on types of disabilities, visit www.disabilities-online.com or contact one of the many support groups or national disability organizations that represent a specific disability group.

References:
United States Office of Personnel Management: www.opm.gov/disability.
Cerebral Palsy Information Central: www.geocities.com/aneecp/distypes.htm

Using Words with Dignity

There are a few general rules of etiquette people should use when talking to or about someone with a disability.

Use "people first" language. Examples: Person with a disability, not a disabled person. Use person who is blind, not a blind person.

Disability is the current acceptable term, not handicap. The word handicap comes from cap-in-hand. In other words, a beggar. That is definitely not how people with disabilities want to be seen.

Talking to a Person with a Disability

Here are some tips to follow:

• It is okay to offer assistance to a person with a disability. Ask first. Wait for a response before you act. Ask for directions if you don’t know how to help.
• Always direct communication to the individual. If a person is accompanied, do not direct your communication to the companion.
• Remember that people with disabilities are just as interested in the baseball scores and other topics as people without disabilities.
• Use a normal speaking tone and style. If someone needs you to speak in a louder voice they will ask you to do so.
• Remember that people with disabilities, like all people, are experts about themselves. They know what they like, what they do not like and what they can and cannot do.
• When introduced to a person with a disability offer to shake hands. People with limited hand use or who wear an artificial limb can usually shake hands. Shaking hands with the left hand is an acceptable greeting.
• Treat adults as adults. Address people who have disabilities by their first names only when extending the same familiarity to all others.

Written Communications

When writing about someone with a disability, portray them as you would anyone else - with all the same human strengths and weaknesses as their nondisabled peers. Never refer to people with disabilities as "disabled" simply to accommodate design layouts.

References:
Disability Etiquette: Community Resources for Independence, Inc. Erie, PA
Manual of Style: State of Illinois, Office of the Attorney General:

References:
Adapted from Commission of Persons with Disabilities. A Division of the Department of Human Rights, Capitol Complex

Helpful Interviewing Tips

Before An Interview:

Understand that you are not hiring a disability. You are interviewing a person with skills and abilities. Let the applicant present him/herself in the best possible light. For example:

• The employer should make sure that the interview location, including the rest room, is accessible.
• Offer assistance to an applicant who is blind or has limited use of his/her hands if you require him/her to fill out forms.
• Provide an interpreter for an applicant who is deaf.
• Offer detailed or specific instructions to an applicant with cognitive disabilities.
• Do not let a rehabilitation counselor, social worker or other third party take an active part in, or sit in on, an interview unless the applicant requests it.
• Make sure you have in-depth knowledge about the essential job functions for position.
• Concentrate on the applicant’s technical and professional knowledge skills, abilities, experiences and interests—not on his/her disability.

At the Interview:

• Do treat the applicant as you would any other adult - don’t be patronizing.
• Do offer to shake hands.
• Do ask job related questions such as "How would you perform this
• particular task?"
• Do get on the same eye level with the applicant.
• Do ask an applicant what prior job duties he or she has performed.
• Do be patient, and repeat directions as necessary.

• Don’t ask questions concerning information not on the individual’s application form.
• Don’t ask about visible physical characteristics or their health status.
• Don’t ask if the applicant has a psychiatric disability, a history of having a psychiatric disability, or if he or she has consulted with a psychiatrist.
• Don’t ask questions about past drug addiction.
• Don’t ask "What happened to you?" or "How will you get to work?"
• Don’t ask questions in terms of disability, such as "Do you have a mental condition that would preclude you from qualifying for this position?"
• Don’t ask "How often will you require leave for treatment of your condition?" However, you may state the organizations attendance requirements and ask if the applicant can meet them.
• Don’t ask the applicant "Will you need accommodations?" or "What kind of accommodations will you need?" It is the applicants responsibility to request accommodations.
• Don’t offer assistance without first asking.

You may ask an individual with a readily apparent disability (such as an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing), how he/she will perform a specific task.

You may conduct an employee physical, if:

• The medical exam comes after you offered employment to the applicant.
• All potential employees in the job category also get physicals. And, if
• You keep the medical information separate from the personnel file.

Reference:  Adapted from Institute for Community Inclusion, One-Stop Disability Resource Manual.

Reasonable Accommodations

Title I of the Americans’ with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that most public and private employers make reasonable accommodations that let qualified people with disabilities perform the essential functions of their jobs. This section will take a look at what those words in italics mean.

Who is Covered?

Public and private employers with fifteen (15) or more employees are required to comply with the ADA Title I provisions. The federal government, Native American tribes, and tax-exempt private membership clubs are not covered.

What are Essential Job Functions?

A worker’s primary duties constitute essential job functions. A function is considered essential if:

• The position exists to perform the function. Example: In an office setting, people do not have the job title of maker of the coffee, but they do have job titles of secretary or office assistant. Therefore, making coffee is not an essential job function for a secretary or office assistant.
• There are a limited number of workers that can perform the function, or among whom the function can be distributed.
• The function is highly specialized, and the person is hired for their special expertise to perform it.

What are Reasonable Accommodations?

Reasonable accommodations are changes to the job or changes to the way a worker performs his/her job. A reasonable accommodation enables qualified people with disabilities to perform essential job functions.

Broad categories of accommodations may include changes to:

• The job application process;
• The work environment;
• The way a job is usually done; and
• The work routine that lets a worker with a disability enjoy equal benefits and privileges of employment, like access to training.

Reasonable Accommodations can be:

• Restructuring a facility;
• Restructuring of the job;
• Modifying work schedules;
• Installing new equipment;
• Providing qualified readers and interpreters;
• Modifying an application and exam procedures and/or training materials;
• Flexible personal leave policies.

Reasonable Accommodations DO NOT include:

• Eliminating a primary job responsibility;
• Lowering production standards that other workers must meet;
• Providing a personal use items (Examples include prosthetic limbs, wheelchairs,
• eyeglasses, hearing aids);
• Anything considered an undue hardship to the employer, and;
• Excusing a uniformly applied conduct rule that is job-related and consistent
• with business necessity (Example: violence, threats of violence, stealing, or
• destruction of property).

What Constitutes an Undue Hardship?

If a reasonable accommodation exceeds the bounds of practicality it may be an undue hardship. They are determined on a case-by-case basis, using the following criteria:

• The cost and nature of the accommodation;
• The overall financial resources of the facility;
• The overall financial resources of the employer; and
• The type of operation of the covered employer.

In other words, the ADA may not require an employer to provide an accommodation if it costs more than another equally effective option, requires extensive and disruptive renovations, or negatively impacts other employees or customers.

When Must an Employer Provide an Accommodation?

A worker, or prospective employee must let the employer know that he or she needs an adjustment or change that is related to their disability. Requests for accommodations can be made verbally or in writing.

What Should an Employer do Following a Request for an Accommodation?

• Verify the worker’s disability.
• Identify the essential job functions that require accommodations.
• Determine the cost-effectiveness of each accommodation the worker requests.
• Implement the most appropriate accommodation with the least economic hardship inclusive of any available tax incentives. See page 15 for more details on tax incentives.

References:
 Adapted from a document from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Workplace Supports.

FAQs on Disability

Question: Will hiring workers with disabilities increase workers compensation insurance rates?

Fact: Insurance rates are based solely on the relative hazards of the operation and the organization's accident history, irrespective of whether workers have disabilities.

Question: Don't workers with disabilities have a higher absentee rate than workers without disabilities?

Fact: A 1991 study, conducted by the DuPont Corporation, revealed that workers with disabilities are not absent any more than workers without disabilities.

Question: Don't people with disabilities have problems getting to work?

Fact: Transportation options for people with disabilities are as varied as those of other workers.

Question: Aren't workers with disabilities more likely to have accidents on the job than workers without disabilities?

Fact: The study conducted by DuPont found that workers with disabilities had the same safety record as those without disabilities.

Question: Don't people with disabilities have trouble meeting performance standards?

Fact: Again, the DuPont study found that compared to overall job performance, 91% of workers with disabilities achieved average to higher than average performance on the job. An earlier Dupont study involving 2,745 workers with disabilities, found that 92% of workers with disabilities rated average or better in job performance compared to 90% of workers without disabilities.

Question: Isn't it going to cost me more money to accommodate workers with disabilities?

Fact: Most workers with disabilities require no special accommodation. The cost for those who do is minimal or much lower than many employers believe. Studies conducted by the Job Accommodation Network reveal that 15% of accommodations cost nothing, 51% cost between $1 and $500, 12% cost between $501 and $1,000, and 22% cost more that $1,000.

Tax Incentives

Federal Tax Credits

Architectural/Transportation Tax Deduction
(IRS Code Section 190, Barrier Removal)

Eligible businesses may deduct expenses related to the removal of physical, structural, and transportation barriers for people with disabilities.

Who’s eligible? All businesses.

What’s covered? The architectural/transportation deduction is available each year to businesses with qualified expenses. Those expenses include making a facility or public transportation vehicle accessible for people with disabilities. Examples include:

• Providing accessible parking spaces, ramps and curb cuts;
• Providing telephones, water fountains and restrooms that are accessible to persons using wheelchairs;
• Making walkways at least 48 inches wide; and/or,
• Providing accessible entrances to buildings, including stairs.

What’s NOT covered? The deduction is not available for new construction, renovation being done to a facility or public transportation vehicle, or for normal depreciable property.

How much? The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows a deduction of up to $15,000 per year for qualified architectural and transportation barrier removal expenses.

How does it work? Businesses that want to take a deduction for expenditures made for architectural and transportation modifications should follow the instructions found in IRS Publication 907 and IRS Publication 535, Business Expenses.

Small Business Tax Credit
(IRS Code Section 44, Disabled Access Credit)

Small businesses may take an annual tax credit for making their business accessible to people with disabilities.

Who’s eligible? Small businesses that in the previous year earned $1 million or less in gross receipts or had 30 or fewer full-time employees.

What’s covered? The tax credit is available every year. Businesses can use it for a variety of expenditures, such as:

• Sign language interpreters for employees/customers with hearing impairments;
• Readers for employees/customers with visual impairments;
• Purchasing adaptive equipment or modifying equipment;
• Translating printed materials into alternate formats (Examples include Braille, audio tape, large print);
• Removing architectural barriers in buildings or vehicles;
• Other similar services (Example: hiring a job coach or co-worker to provide support to an employee with a disability).

What’s NOT covered? This tax credit does not apply to new construction, or for modifying a building that was put in service before November 6, 1990.

How much? The credit applies to 50% of expenses over $250, but not to exceed $10,250 (a maximum benefit of $5,000).

How does it work? Businesses can claim the "Disabled Access Credit" on IRS form 8826.

Tax Credits for Illinois Businesses

The Illinois Department of Employment Security currently administers two tax credit programs for employers who hire and retain "disadvantaged" workers who face significant barriers to employment. They include the new Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit and the currently existing Work Opportunity Tax Credits.

Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit

What’s covered? New employees, who received public aid benefits 18 months prior to their employment, earn their employers up to $3,500 for their first year, and up to $5,000 for their second year of employment.

How does it work? The Welfare-to-Work Tax Credit is for "new hires" employed 400 or more hours (or 180 days) is 35% of qualified wages for the first year of employment, and 50% for the second year. Qualified wages are capped at $10,000 per year.

How does it work? Employers who hire people defined as most in need may now take up to $8,500 on their company federal income tax.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit

Who’s eligible? For employers to be eligible for this program, they must retain new employees for a minimum of 400 hours to qualify for a full 40% tax credit.

What’s it cover? The credit applies only to new employees hired after September 30, 1996, and before January 1, 2004. The new employee must belong to one of nine target groups outlined below.

• Individuals between 18-24 from families that receive Food Stamps;
• U.S. Veterans that receive Food Stamps;
• People between 18-24 living in an Enterprise Community or Empowerment Zone;
• Summer employees between 16-17 living in Enterprise Community or Empowerment Zone;
• Ex-felons;
• People with low-income;
• People who receive Supplemental Security Income.

All new qualified adult employees must work a minimum of 120 or 400 hours; Summer Youth must work at least 90 days, between May 1 and September 15.

How does it work? The maximum tax credit under this program is $2,400 per new employee, calculated at 40% of the first $6,000 in wages. New, eligible employees working for 120 to 399 hours earn employers a 25% credit on any wages up to $6,000.

References:  Adapted from: Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research & Training Center on Workplace Supports and I
llinois Department of Employment Security web site:

Resources

Below is contact information for statewide agencies and organizations (some with local offices) that can provide guidance, technical assistance and support .

Centers for Independent Living

Centers for Independent Living (CILs) in Illinois empower individuals with disabilities to take charge of their lives and make their own choices and decisions in order to be as self sufficient as possible. They provide local support for business and other agencies to help them meet federal, state and local accessibility mandates.

For a list of CILs in your area, contact the Illinois Network of Centers for Independent Living 800-587-1227 (v/tty) www.incil.org

Coalition of Citizens with Disabilities in Illinois (CCDI)

CCDI is a cross-disability grassroots advocacy organization. It has 20 local chapters throughout Illinois. Its membership work on local and statewide disability issues. 800-433-8848 (v/tty) www.ccdionline.org

Great Lakes ADA and Accessible Information Technology Center

The Great Lakes Center is a program of The Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois at Chicago. It provides technical assistance and training to businesses and people with disabilities regarding the ADA. 800-949-4232 (v/tty) www.adagreatlakes.org

Illinois Assistive Technology Project (IATP)

IATP provides training, information and assistance to people with disabilities, their employers, educators, and others about devices and services that can help them live more independent lives. 800-852-5110 (v/tty) www.iltech.org

Illinois Department of Human Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services

More than 50 local offices provide services to people with disabilities and assist them in making informed choices to achieve full community participation through employment, education, and independent living opportunities.800-252-8635 (v), 800-447-6404 (tty). http://www.dhs.state.il.us/ors/

Illinois Employment and Training Centers (IETC)

IETCs provide one-stop services designed to link Illinois employers with qualified job seekers. 888-367-4382 (v), 312-793-9350 (tty). http://www.ietc.org/locations/locations.html

Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois (SILC)

SILC provides the leadership, research, planning and education required to support independent living services in Illinois. 217-744-7777 (v/tty) www.silcofillinois.org

References

Access For All: A Resource Manual for Meeting the Needs of One-Stop Customers with Disabilities. Institute of Community Inclusion, Children’s Hospital Boston and the University of Massachusetts Boston. 617-355-7486 (v), 617-355-6956 (tty). Email: david.hoff@tch.harvard.edu. Web: http://www.communityinclusion.org/

Cerebral Palsy Information Central, CPIC C/o Anee Stanford, West Campus #104 ISU, Pocatello ID, 83209. Email: anee@aol.com. Web: http://geocities.com/aneecp/index2.html

Community Resources for Independence, Inc., 2222 Filmore Avenue, Erie, PA 16506. 800-530-5541 (v), or 814-838-7222 (v), 814-838-8115 (tty). E-mail: cri@crinet.org. Web: www.crinet.org

Great Lakes Disability & Business Technical Assistance Center, Department of Disability and Human Development, 1640 West Roosevelt Road (M/C 626), Chicago, Illinois 60608. 800-949-4232 (v/tty). 312-413-1407 (v/tty) Email: gldbtac@uic.edu. Web: www.adagreatlakes.org

Illinois Department of Human Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services, 100 S Grand Ave E, Springfield, IL 62762. 800-843-6154 English or Español. 800-447-6404 (tty). Web: www.dhs.state.il.us/ors/

Illinois Department of Employment Security, 850 East Madison, Springfield, Illinois 62702-5603. 217-785-5069. Web: www.ides.state.il.us

Job Accommodation Network, PO Box 6080, Morgantown, WV 26506-6080. 800-526-7234 (v/tty). Email: jan@jan.icdi.wvu.edu.

Web: http://janweb.icdi.wvu.edu/

National Center on Workforce and Disability/Adult, Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston. 888-886-9898 (v/tty). Email: contact@onestops.info. Web: www.onestops.info

United States Department of Labor, Office of Disability Employment Policy, DuPont Studies: www.dol.gov/odep/pubs/fact/mythfact.htm

United States Office of Personnel Management, Office of Disability 1900 E Street, NW, Washington, DC 20415-0001. 202-606-1800 (v), 202-606-2532 (tty). Email: disability@opm.gov. Web: www.opm.gov/disability.

Virginia Commonwealth University, Rehabilitation Research & Training Center, 1314 West Main Street, Richmond, VA 23284. 804-828-1851 (v/tty). Email: tcblanke@mail1.vcu.edu. Web: www.worksupport.com.

Authors & Funding

John M. Eckert, Executive Director
Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois

John M. Eckert serves as the Executive Director of the Statewide Independent Living Council of Illinois: A planning body mandated by the Rehabilitation Act to develop and have co-sign-off authority on the three-year Illinois State Plan for Independent Living in collaboration with the Department of Human Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services; and advocates for the "provision of independent living services" for people with disabilities, their families, and their friends.

Cilla Sluga
Web & Word

Cilla Sluga is a long-time advocate for people with disabilities. She founded Web & Word, a company that facilitates communication projects for non-profit advocacy organizations and others. She is a nurse, has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from the University of Illinois at Springfield, and is a frequent guest editorial writer for the State Journal-Register.

This publication is funded through the Illinois Department of Human Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services (DHS/ORS) under grant WI-11029-01-60 from the U.S. Department of Labor. This publication does not necessarily represent the position or policy of DHS/ORS or the U.S. Department of Labor and no official endorsement should be inferred.

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