Politics

Republican State Sen. Dan McConchie to Resign, Launch National Disability Nonprofit

Illinois’ previous Senate Republican leader will resign from legislature early next month to start a national nonprofit focused on disability accessibility.

State Sen. Dan McConchie (R-Lake Zurich), who has used a wheelchair for 17 years, said the goal of the fledgling Accessibility Policy Institute is to fill a gap between change made through the federal Americans With Disabilities Act and from the work of state and local organizations dedicated to advancing the cause of those with developmental disabilities.

“I am the first paraplegic to be elected to state office in Illinois history,” said McConchie, who suffered a spinal cord injury during a 2007 hit-and-run crash. “I recognize some needs of things that needed to be done.”

Illinois is ahead of the game in many measures, McConchie said, largely due to the its Illinois Environmental Barriers Act (EBA), a law first enacted in 1985 that gives the state attorney general the ability to enforce ADA-style protections meant to guarantee physical access to housing and public facilities.

McConchie said only California has so far followed Illinois’ lead.

“The fact that we’ve done that and only one other state has followed our lead shows what kind of work needs to be done,” he said.

The Americans With Disabilities Act is too removed and can take too long to address local needs, McConchie said, citing the example of a physically disabled Chicago resident who bought a condo but couldn’t access or purchase an accessible parking space.

The resident eventually sold the condo, McConchie said.

That lead McConchie to sponsor a measure (Senate Bill 2740), signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker over the summer (Public Act 103-0916) that requires condo boards to make accommodations if someone who owns a unit requires an accessible parking spot.

“Disabled people often do not have access to either employment, transportation or housing — one or more of those,” McConchie said. “When they have access to those, they have the opportunity to live full lives. When they don’t have that — and many disabled people don’t — it increases the burden on society and it reduces their ability to fully live out their lives.”

Last session, McConchie also worked to advance a proposal (Senate Bill 3323) to ensure that Illinois offers electric vehicle charging stations accessible to individuals with limited hand dexterity, people with limb differences and those who use adapted driving controls.

While that measure didn’t make it to Pritzker’s desk, McConchie said that’s the sort of policy his new organization will promote in Illinois and in other states.

McConchie said his plan for the Accessibility Policy Institute is to research best practices, policies and laws in other states, to create model legislation that other states can look to adopt. The organization can serve as a resource for advocates interested in this work.

“This is something that people should be able to come up with an idea, and get that word out to other states,” McConchie said. “There is no help or support out there.”

The institute is his brainchild, he said, and he is seeking donations. McConchie said an unnamed individual with a relative with accessibility needs is providing seed money.

Senate Republicans elected McConchie to serve as their leader from 2021 to 2023, but he lost their support after the caucus failed to ride a red wave in the 2022 election, keeping them in the super minority.

McConchie, who lives in Hawthorne Woods, served in the Army National Guard and is a dad. He’s been a state senator since 2016.

Illinois’ few revolving door restrictions will curb how much McConchie can lobby in Illinois for six months after his resignation takes effect Sunday.

Local Republican leaders from the 26th Senate district will select McConchie’s replacement.

Contact Amanda Vinicky: @AmandaVinicky | [email protected]

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