Peggy Davidsmeyer takes helm as new chair of disabilities commission

Dec. 22—Although Peggy Davidsmeyer has never been a member of the Jacksonville Commission on Disabilities and Human Relations, her heart and passion have been right there with its members as they worked toward one goal — ensuring a good quality of life for everyone.

Today is a different story. She now is officially a commission member and has been selected as its chair.

She was selected for the commission in October and Mayor Andy Ezard made her appointment official in November, she said.

"We had our first meeting in December," she said.

As executive director of Jacksonville Area Center for Independent Living at 15 Permac Road, Davidsmeyer is quick to recognize her colleague Dan Thompson, who pushed for Davidsmeyer to chair the commission.

"He's a huge help to JACIL," Davidsmeyer said of Thompson. "I was actually pushing for him to be chair."

Now that she has one meeting under her belt, Davidsmeyer is settling in to lead the advisory group and follow its mission statement to investigate residents' and groups' formal complaints about discrimination and offer recommendations to the city about what course of action to take. The commission also seeks open and ongoing discussions to have a positive impact on minorities.

"It's not just about disabilities, it's about human relations," she said.

She's hoping to have a new community survey to see if accessibility and inclusion goals are being met, she said.

It was the commission that led a push to encourage subtitles at movie theaters and restaurants around town, given the city's deaf population, Davidsmeyer said.

"There are 500 households with one or more deaf person in" Jacksonville, she said.

It's illegal for a restaurant or bar to deny closed-captioning on its TVs, should someone request it. But, considering the size of Jacksonville's deaf population, "they shouldn't have to ask," Davidsmeyer said.

The commission has always included a JACIL representative and Davidsmeyer is looking at maximizing seats on the commission, along with paving the way for the commission's future leaders.

"I think every group should have a succession plan," she said.

Davidsmeyer graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in music therapy and earned her master's degree in health service administration from the University of Illinois Springfield.

The commission's work isn't hat far removed from her work with JACIL, but Davidsmeyer is embracing her new role, including the chairmanship.

"I'm looking forward to it," she said.

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