Springfield Center for Independent Living

08/21/2026

SILC of Illinois invites you to register for our Zoom webinar: All About Voting for People with Disabilities

During this webinar, participants will learn about the basics of the voter registration process, the vote-by-mail process, the accessibility tools available at each polling place, and the importance of participating in the November midterm elections. Rio will provide up-to-date information about current legal challenges affecting voting rights, as well as opportunities to get involved in federal and local voting rights advocacy efforts. The session will conclude with time for questions and discussion. ASL Interpreters and Captioning will be available for this webinar.

Date: September 8, 2026

Time: 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM (CST)

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_beve1BPMQU-aPjjgzde_4A

Webinar Speaker~

Rio Goodwin Perez (Going Home Coalition Director at The Arc of Illinois Arc of Illinois)

Rio (they/them) is an artist, educator, and organizer who is passionate about creating equitable spaces.

Rio strongly believes that disability advocacy efforts should be led by disabled people, and their goal is to keep these voices at the center of the movement towards de-institutionalization. Their vision for the Going Home Collective is to foster and expand its diverse and resilient network of advocacy, building upon already existing infrastructure. They hope the Coalition will grow its work among communities who are the most marginalized and develop prospective advocates who have a desire to create systems change.

During this webinar, participants will learn about the basics of the voter registration process, the vote-by-mail process, the accessibility tools available at each polling place, and the importance of participating in the November midterm elections. Rio will provide up-to-date information about the...

08/04/2026

Check out our latest August/September/October Newsletter! You can access the full newsletter on our website at https://www.scil.org/news/

08/04/2026

Job Opening for Part-Time Independent Living Advocate with a local
not-for-profit agency serving people with disabilities in a five-county area.

Supports consumers in setting goals and provides direct services to help meet them.

Provides the Independent Living standards of five core services: Advocacy, Peer Counseling,
Information & Referral, Independent Living Skills Training & Transition Services.

Qualifications: A bachelor’s degree is desired, or an associate’s degree with two years of related
experience is required. Personal experience or involvement in and an understanding of disability
rights desired.

Must have own transportation to cover a five-county service area.

Commitment to the independent living philosophy is essential.

Mail or email resume and cover letter to:
The Springfield Center for Independent Living, 330 South Grand Avenue West, Springfield, IL 62704
or email to [email protected]

SCIL is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer.

Persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

Health insurance, life insurance, vacation, sick time off, retirement
plan, and personal time off are available for this position.

06/18/2026

Governor Pritzker Signs Landmark Legislation Creating a
Dedicated Department on Disability Rights and Advocacy in Illinois. For the full PDF please go tohttps://www.scil.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/32635-061726-igachb862pressreleasefinal.pdf

05/21/2026

Check out our latest June/July Newsletter! You can access the full newsletter on our website at https://www.scil.org/news/

03/31/2026

Make Yourself Heard regarding: Change to Eviction Notice Rules for HUD-Assisted Housing

A proposed rule by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will remove the requirement that Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) and HUD Assisted Housing give tenants a 30-day notice for eviction and 30 days to pay pass-due rent. Some state and local rules allow for a shorter time frame for both of these. In 2024, a new rule was put in place to protect tenants from eviction with less than a 30-days' notice for passed-due rent. It also required that tenants be allowed 30 days to pay passed-tue rent. The proposed rule would remove this protection.

The proposed new rule will not go into effect until the agency reviews comments on the proposed rule and issues a new final rule. If it is issued, the new federal rule will no longer require housing providers in HUD-assisted housing to give tenants 30 days’ notice or 30 days to pay past-due rent. Instead, eviction timelines may follow state or local laws. In some places, state and local laws allow shorter notice periods.

By submitting your comments, you can inform HUD:

• How housing rules affect you or your family
• Challenges related to rent payments or eviction timelines
• Your experience with HUD-assisted housing ideas you want HUD to review

Public comments will be accepted through Monday, April 27th, 11:59 p.m. EDT.
Go to:

This rule revokes the 2021 interim final rule and 2024 final rule requiring that public housing agencies (PHAs) and owners of properties receiving project-based rental assistance (PBRA) provide certain tenants with 30-day notification prior to termination of lease for nonpayment of rent....

03/27/2026

Save the date for our event.
Edit -The link to the Facebook event is in the comments.

03/14/2026

Check out our latest March/April Newsletter! You can access the full newsletter on our website at https://www.scil.org/news/

01/23/2026

January 23rd, 2026

Today, on Ed Roberts Day, we honor not only the father of the Independent Living Movement, but also the quiet, relentless force who made that movement possible: Zona Roberts.

Ed Roberts changed the world by insisting on a radical idea, that disabled people belong everywhere decisions are made, that our lives are not medical problems to be managed, but human lives worthy of dignity, autonomy, and power. He did not ask for charity. He demanded justice. He did not accept access as a favor. He defined it as a right.

But no movement is born in isolation.

Behind Ed’s courage was Zona’s unwavering belief. At a time when the world told her to institutionalize her son, to lower expectations, to accept exclusion as inevitable, Zona said no. She chose love over compliance, imagination over fear, and possibility over prescription. She fought school systems, medical authorities, and social norms, not for recognition, but for her son’s right to live fully.

Zona Roberts was not simply a supportive mother. She was an architect of liberation.

Together, Ed and Zona redefined what independence means, not as isolation or self-sufficiency, but as interdependence, community, and the freedom to direct one’s own life. Their legacy lives on in every ramp built, every policy changed, every attendant hired, every disabled leader who claims their place without apology.

At the Center for Independent Living, we carry this legacy forward with humility and resolve. We are heirs to a movement that was never meant to be comfortable or polite. It was meant to be transformative. Ed taught us to challenge systems. Zona taught us to protect the human heart within that struggle.

As we face new frontiers, technology, aging, housing, climate, and economic insecurity—we do so grounded in their wisdom: nothing about us without us, and nothing without love, courage, and persistence.

On this Ed Roberts Day, we honor Ed Roberts for changing the world and Zona Roberts for believing it was possible.

Their legacy is not behind us.

It is alive in us.

Sincerely,
Dr. Victor Pineda