To the editor,
I was at the Kewanee DMV today to get a REAL ID. I am in a wheelchair and am a veteran. The entrance doors to the building are not automatic handicap accessible and it was extremely difficult to get through the two sets of doors.
Luckily my homemaker was with me and the DMV staff came to help hold the doors open. I write this to inform others who are handicapped, disabled or wheelchair bound and needing to get a REAL ID or conduct other business at Kewanee DMV of the difficulty entering the building.
There is a long sidewalk in front of the building which has no ramp, a drop off ledge and no railing, I came to the DMV on the Henry County Transportation bus and we had to try to turn my wheelchair around and head back to the front entrance because there was no way to get level with the parking lot from the sidewalk. The bus pulled forward and we found entry to the parking lot level by using the handicap parking spot which had a car parked in it. We had to maneuver around that vehicle to get entry to the building and then exiting to the parking lot to meet the bus on the side of the building.
We filed a complaint with the Inspector General and questioned if DMV offices shouldn’t be ADA compliant? He was very concerned and said he will get back to us. Hopefully something can be done to make access easier for others who need DMV services especially since the May 7 deadline for the REAL ID is quickly approaching.
Hopefully others who have experienced this difficulty at the Kewanee DMV would also call the Inspector General at the Illinois Secretary of State.
Thank you,
Kathleen Dennison,
Kewanee, Ill.
