You opened doors and lifted possibilities.
Marca Bristo was a devoted advocate, feminist, disability rights leader, role model, wife, mother, grandmother and friend who dedicated her life and career to becoming a powerful advocate and ally for people with disabilities.
Her lifelong fight to ensure the rights of people with disabilities to live their lives just like any other person resulted in things that many of us, with and without disabilities, take for granted today. It was Marca who physically blocked CTA buses during protests in 1984 and who helped file a successful lawsuit that resulted in CTA installing lifts on buses from which we all benefit today. And, it was Marca who helped author the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 “to assure equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency” for and by people with disabilities.
Marca’s work helped lay the groundwork for future disability legislation, including the 2014 passage of the “Achieving a Better Life Experience” Act. The ABLE Act made Illinois ABLE accounts a reality today for hundreds of thousands of eligible Illinoisans with disabilities to achieve greater financial independence and better quality of life.
Thank you, Marca.