National Web sites such as Angie’s List and Yelp have been thriving for years and giving consumers a chance to voice their opinions about the quality of businesses.

But what if someone is disabled, and wants to know what kind of businesses are accessible to them?
For the past three years, Wilmette resident JJ Hanley has been hard at work to make this possible. In March, she launched JJ’s List, a community-driven Web site where people can rate businesses in Chicagoland on how well they accommodate the disabled—including how welcoming, flexible and respectful they are when it comes to basic services.

“Our communities often don’t know how to interact with people who have disabilities,” Hanley said. “But they have just as much of a right to live well as we do.”

Hanley said that Illinois is 51st in the nation—dead last, including Washington, D.C.—for providing appropriate community services for people with disabilities. She said the state is relatively inclusive up until the high school level, but after this stage, there is nothing for them.

“They drop off a cliff,” Hanley said. “We institutionalize a person if they can’t live at home, and they live very isolated lives. We’re treating them like second-class citizens.”

Hanley became interested in disability awareness issues when her son was diagnosed with autism as a child after being told by countless doctors that his developmental disabilities weren’t a cause for concern. She produced a documentary shortly after called “Refrigerator Mothers,” a film about mothers in past decades who were blamed for supposedly causing their children’s autism.

When her son grew older, Hanley realized there was no support system in place for disabled adults. After pondering another documentary, she realized that a community Web site would have a more direct impact. A few years later, JJ’s List was born.

The Web site currently has about 300 reviews from 50 communities in the Chicago suburbs, including Deerfield, Evanston, Wilmette, Northbrook, Arlington Heights, Park Ridge, Wheeling and Gurnee. The site is a free service.

“It gives people with disabilities a consumer voice,” Hanley said. “Disabled consumers have $175 billion annually in discretionary income, more than twice that of the teenage market.”

The site includes tips for businesses, including how to speak to someone who is disabled and how to make a business accessible.

Hanley said that so far, the site has had a wonderful effect on the community. The site hires interns with disabilities and encourages able-bodied people to read and post on the site.

Megan Madigan of Evanston, who volunteers part-time at the Center for Independent Futures, said her students have benefited from JJ’s List, specifically one of the center’s participants, Brian.

“In some realms, it’s been hard for him to vocalize his opinions,” Madigan said. “But writing on JJ’s List is a really great way to make himself known in a place where people without disabilities can read it.”

The site has also helped promote businesses. JJ’s List designates some businesses as “bridge builders”—establishments that have a particular commitment to disability awareness.

Dave Cozzolino is the owner of Wilmette Pet Center, one such bridge builder. Cozzolino hires people with disabilities through the PACE program at National-Louis University, a program meant to meet the transitional needs of students with learning disabilities.

“Most employers are not going to be receptive to hiring [people with disabilities] because they think it’s not very cost-effective or efficient,” Cozzolino said. “But you can get a great employer with a great attitude, and it can be a win-win situation.”

Cozzolino said that JJ’s List is a strong advocate of hiring people with disabilities.
Michael Hoffman, owner of Michael’s Restaurant in Highland Park, has been working with disability awareness groups in the North Shore such as Kinship Mentor North for 30 years.The restaurant is another bridge builder on JJ’s List.

“We are entirely handicapped accessible, from the washrooms to the walkway,” Hoffman said. “JJ’s List brings in awareness of day-to-day difficulties that people with disabilities face, and give them information about where they should go.”

Hanley said she hopes JJ’s List’s presence will grow, especially during October, which is Disability Awareness Month.

“It’s very easy to adopt disability awareness,” Hanley said. “It just takes businesses and communities stepping up to the plate.”

--by Nona Willis Aronowitz, Triblocal.com reporter