McLean County is updating its website and social media posts to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA].
The McLean County Board heard an update on the effort during its meeting on Thursday, led by Craig Nelson, the county's chief information officer, and digital media director Dan Leary.
The ADA does not specifically address online accessibility, but the Department of Justice published a rule in 2024 setting technical requirements for accessibility on state and local government websites and social media. Earlier this year, the DOJ published a resource document with more information to explain how to maintain compliance that can help avoid lawsuits.
Correctly formatted hyperlinks, page structure, images and documents are aspects of web page design that need to be corrected in order for a site to be considered accessible. Alternate texts on images also are a requirement for accessibility.
“We have the tool that actually crawls our website and goes through and it actually discovers what it thinks are non-compliant ADA issues on the website and categorizes them for us,” said Nelson.
From now on, the county will use a content management system software, meaning when new content is drafted for web posts, there will be a review for ADA compliance before it is posted.
The county’s current compliance is better than many other governments that already use the content management system, said Leary.
“The DOJ ruling does make it a requirement for us to comply as closely as we can with these standards, but it's more so than that,” he said. “We recognize that it is the right thing to do, and we just want our digital content to be accessible to everyone.”
The mandated date for a county of McLean’s size to be fully compliant is April 2026.
Bikeway project
Also Thursday, a contract with Cummins Engineering was approved to provide construction engineering services for the Route 66 Bikeway project.
The bikeway is a statewide effort to build a bike trail parallel to Historic Route 66 from Chicago to St. Louis. The program started in 1999, with 80% of funding coming from the Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program and 20% coming from municipalities and counties the pathway goes through.
The county funds the portion of the project between the Village of McLean and Funks Grove. Cummins Engineering will document contract quantities, provide material inspection and produce reports and pay estimates. Bloomington-based Rowe Construction won the bid for the project.
In other business, the board:
— Passed an ordinance to increase a number of fees associated with certain aspects of county code pertaining to animals. The changes were recommended by the Animal Control Department. Aspects increased were related to bite boarding charges, vaccination and the surrender, euthanization or disposal of animals.
— Learned of a $363,404 grant awarded to McLean County to modernize court systems in the 11th judicial circuit. The grant is from the Administrative Office of the Illinois Courts Technology Modernization Project. The largest item is to finish upgrades of courtroom technology used for evidence presentation. Other needs include video intercom and cameras for security, and additions and replacements of laptops and monitors.
— Findings of fact and recommendations from the Zoning Board of Appeals were addressed regarding two separate applications for solar panel installations. One is in the Mount Hope plat south of the McLean interstate exit that intersects Interstate 55 and U.S. Route 136. The other is in the Old Town plat southeast of the City of Bloomington, north of U.S. Route 150.
All standards were met for both, though the applicant for the Mount Hope solar installation is expected to earn permits from both Mount Hope and Funks Grove and meet other stipulations before a construction permit is issued.
