Illinois Department of Transportation and staffer receive National Rehabilitation Association awards         

[NOV. 16, 2006]  SPRINGFIELD -- The Illinois Department of Transportation and one of its employees are receiving national recognition for their commitment to eliminating barriers that people with disabilities face in the workplace. The department and Dave Dailey, the agency's Americans with Disabilities Act specialist, have been chosen by the National Rehabilitation Association for their path-breaking efforts in hiring, promoting and removing barriers for people with disabilities.

"So many of the employees at IDOT have made it a priority to ensure that no person with a disability is prevented from fulfilling their potential; we all share in this award," said Department of Transportation Secretary Timothy W. Martin. "Under the leadership of Governor Rod R. Blagojevich, we are working not only to honor the Americans with Disabilities Act, but to meet the spirit of the act."

The awards will be presented by the National Rehabilitation Association at an awards banquet in Orlando, Fla., later this month.

The Department of Transportation received the National Rehabilitation Association's Organizational Award, which is presented to an organization with an outstanding record of service to people with disabilities.

David Dailey, who has been with the department for 14 years and is the agency's Americans with Disabilities Act specialist in the central office in Springfield, received the E.B. Whitten Silver Medallion Award, which was established in 1974 in honor of the National Rehabilitation Association's first executive director. The award is presented to an individual who is a leader in removing barriers and in helping to overcome discrimination against people with disabilities.

"Presenting our most prestigious award to such an outstanding individual is both an honor and a privilege," said Linda Winslow, executive director of the National Rehabilitation Association. "Mr. Dailey has been described as an inspiration and an outstanding advocate and represents the spirit which Mr. Whitten brought to the National Rehabilitation Association."

The Department of Transportation has been lauded for a groundbreaking program that Dailey was instrumental in launching, in which high school students with disabilities come to the department headquarters, are teamed up with mentors and have the opportunity to learn work skills in a real-world setting.

The Department of Transportation and Dailey were both recognized earlier this year by the Illinois Rehabilitation Association, when the department received the state association's Organization Rehabilitation Award and Dailey received its Personal Achievement Award. In recognizing the Department of Transportation as "one of the lead agencies in the hiring of supported employment candidates," the Illinois Rehabilitation Association said: "They are always willing to make accommodations so that the right person can be on the job. Recently, IDOT has again emerged as a leader among employers. With the help of their ADA coordinator (Dailey), they have initiated a new training program that works with high school students with disabilities."

Of Dailey, the state association said: "His work with persons of disabilities has been tireless. Many people with disabilities are employed with the state of Illinois due to the efforts of Dave Dailey."

[Illinois Department of Transportation news release]