Class Action: Disabled Residents Demand Accessible Walkways in City of Pekin, Illinois

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A proposed class action out of Illinois federal court claims the City of Pekin has discriminated against residents with mobility disabilities by neglecting to install and maintain accessible pedestrian rights-of-way throughout the city.

According to the lawsuit, which was filed against the city, its city manager, and members of the city council, Pekin’s curb ramps, sidewalks, crosswalks, bus stops, and other pedestrian rights-of-way are largely inaccessible to people with limited mobility due to “numerous architectural and other physical access barriers.” The case claims many of the walkways in the Tazewell County municipality are in disrepair, contain barriers that block the path of travel, or fail to meet federal regulations regarding the presence of curb ramps.

“Nearly 90% of the City’s hundreds of miles of pedestrian rights-of-way need repair or are not accessible to persons with mobility disabilities for the absence of curb ramps or compliant curb ramps,” the complaint notes, adding that Pekin’s has received over $6.5 million in federal funds for such improvement since 2003.

The named plaintiffs in the lawsuit, six individuals living with mobility disabilities, argue that the city’s failure to implement accessible pedestrian pathways violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act in that it denies them the same freedoms granted to non-disabled residents.

“Lack of access to the City’s system of pedestrian rights-of-way deprives people with mobility disabilities of their independence, and essentially relegates them to second-class citizen status,” the complaint reads.