BY JOANNA PLUTA

Deerfield/Lincolnshire Review
STAFF WRITER

Joel Lerner, Pioneer Press

Stevenson High School junior David Kuriniec is pulling for the White Sox this summer, and his reasons are as good as any: Comiskey Park, home of the White Sox, has 400 handicapped-accessible seats, while the Cubs' home Wrigley Field maintains only 10 such seats.

To Kuriniec, that is more important that any player's batting average or the silly superstitions on which other fans base their loyalties. Kuriniec was diagnosed with cerebral palsy before his first birthday, and the number of handicapped-accessible seats at the stadium directly affects his enjoyment of the game.

Kuriniec has several other examples of places he has difficulty getting in and around, and is sure he is not the only one with such issues. In response, he is engaged in a one-man campaign to encourage business owners and community leaders to make their facilities more handicapped-accessible. Most recently, he convinced officials at Stevenson High School District 125 to install an automatic door in the original school building on the west side of campus.

"You can't think that someone is going to open the door for you," Kuriniec said. "It's a nice thing to think but we don't live in a utopian society."

Prior to installing the door this spring, a ramp allowed handicapped access to a door on Stevenson's first floor, but visitors were left to open the door on their own. Kuriniec, who uses a walker or wheelchair to get around, was often unable to simultaneously open the door and maneuver his equipment into the building.

"But it's not just that," he said. "Senior citizens and mothers with strollers might have a hard time, too, and they go to Stevenson for a lot of reasons." Many community organizations use Stevenson's facility for special events and programs.

Kuriniec said in his experience, he was unlikely to be offered help from the able-bodied people inside the building, assuming anyone was even walking by the door when he arrived at school.

Last November, Kuriniec took his complaint to the interim head of building and grounds at School District 125. The administrator forwarded Kuriniec's request to the Board of Education, which quickly approved adding the automatic door at the entrance closest to the ramp.

High goals

Having successfully lobbied for changes at his school, the Deerfield resident is pursuing loftier goals: improving in government funding for small businesses that make their facilities handicapped accessible. His Web site, www.differentability.org, lists several recommendations for high-level changes in the Americans with Disabilities Act, which Kuriniec hopes to present to Congress in 2004.

"I know that some of the things I suggest are not going to happen because there aren't enough people in Congress who want to spend the money," Kuriniec said. His job then, he said, is to meet with as many legislators as he can to argue his case in person.

Kuriniec wants more federal funds allocated to disability costs, including the installation of automatic entrances, wheelchair ramps, modified restrooms and seating at sports stadiums. He is also looking for government regulations to limit insurance prices for people with disabilities, access to modified cars in public schools' drivers education classes and federal subsidies or tax breaks for businesses that make their facilities accessible.

Kuriniec said many places are handicapped accessible as mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act, but the legislation is inadequate. And Kuriniec finds examples of such shortcomings every day.

Most malls and other public places have handicapped-accessible restrooms, complete with L-shaped stalls and handrails. But few restrooms have automatic entrances that allow Kuriniec access to the restroom at all.

"That's a big comparison to make, technical vs. realistic access," he said. "I would hope that the Federal government would see that there's a need for these changes, and that the current tax break isn't big enough. The government needs to live up to its promises and put in more money for disability access. Give it to businesses that choose to make themselves accessible."

Political contacts

So far, he has met with U.S. Rep. Mark Kirk, R-10th of Highland Park, and State Rep. Beth Coulson, R-57th of Glenview. While in Kirk's office for a second meeting, Kuriniec spoke by phone to U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin, of Rhode Island, who was paralyzed from the chest down at age 16 when a gun accidentally discharged during a Boy Scout activity.

"We had to modify the Congress significantly to have a fully functioning member who is wheelchair-bound," said Kirk, who is working with Langevin on a gun control bill. Kirk was struck by Kuriniec's declaration that Langevin is his hero, and is eager to go help Kuriniec gain support for his cause.

"David is someone who is dealing with some very severe challenges, but he is unique in that he is entirely positive and upbeat in the way he takes on the world," Kirk said. "I want him to keep moving in the direction he is going."

Following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Kuriniec focused his efforts on more local projects, including a newsletter he intends to publish four times a year. He also created a Power Point presentation that will be included in Stevenson's diversity curriculum, A World of Difference.

"It included a part on able-ism (before Kuriniec's presentation was added), but they only had a skit to talk about it," he said. His presentation addresses both reasons why people have disabilities, and how able-bodied students can interact with them without being insulting.