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Chicago Sun-Times
Disabled boy wins right to front door
September 9, 2004

BY NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporter

For 10-year-old Jaime Trujillo, it was the modern-day equivalent of being forced to sit in the back of the bus.

But, as of Wednesday, the wheelchair-using Glenview boy no longer will be forced to enter his condo building through a back service entrance alongside a loading dock and trash cans.

Jaime instead finally can come in through the front door without fear of getting fined or yelled at, after a settlement was struck between his family and the Triumvera Tower Condominium Association.

The association agreed to pay $83,500 in fines, its president will resign, and its board will apologize to the Trujillos and throw out the rule that prohibits people who use wheelchairs from entering through the front door. A portion of the settlement, $10,000, will go to a previous tenant, now a widow, whose late husband also was kept from entering the 106-unit high-rise through the front.

Karen Tamley -- who heads Access Living, an advocate group for people with disabilities that sued on behalf of the Trujillo family -- blasted the association for having a rule she says was so antiquated it hearkened back to the days before civil rights reforms.

"This was akin to requiring African Americans to sit at the back of buses or use separate drinking fountains," Tamley said.

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, who later joined in suing the association, called the rule "blatant discrimination" and said the case sends a message that "second-class treatment for persons with disabilities will not be tolerated."

Jaime's father, Claudio Trujillo, said his family was told about the rule when they moved in one year ago but figured it wouldn't be enforced because it was so "outrageous."

In February, Claudio and his wife, Luz, received a letter again asking that Jaime stop entering through the front door, claiming it damaged the entryway.

In another instance, association president Sarah Stollberg yelled at Jaime when he tried coming in through the front, according to the civil complaint. The boy has severe physical and developmental disabilities and often suffers from seizures.

Jaime's parents were threatened with a $50 fine and were told maintenance would block the front entrance if their son kept trying to use it.

"It's very sad this has happened in the United States in the 21st century," Claudio Trujillo said. "It was so obvious, the discrimination."

Max Lapertosa, an Access Living attorney, said he will never understand why the condo association came up with the rule but said it's possible members didn't want people who are disabled to be seen coming in and out of the building.

"I think that very well could have been a reason," Lapertosa said.

As part of the settlement, Stollberg, accused of "vigorously" enforcing the rule, must resign in 15 days and cannot seek any other management or volunteer posts with the association.

A lawyer for the condo association could not be reached for comment.

The Trujillos, who also have a 5-year-old daughter, Melissa, came to the United States from Colombia about eight years ago. They will continue living in the condo.

"It's a matter of choice, and no one else deserves to choose but us," Claudio Trujillo said of which entrance his son uses. "It's our choice."

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posted                  

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The association agreed to pay $83,500 in fines, its president will resign, and its board will apologize to the Trujillos and throw out the rule that prohibits people who use wheelchairs from entering through the front door.

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