Business Services Success Stories

McDonald's USA collaborated with the State of Illinois Vocational Rehabilitation Program

Division of Rehabilitation Services, to build a more inclusive working environment in the Romeoville Innovation Restaurant. Through this collaboration, McDonald's USA is recruiting more candidates with disabilities and exploring how to best implement inclusive hiring practices, including enhancing interview processes; engaging with candidates, as needed, to identify reasonable accommodations; and providing job coaching as part of the onboarding process.

By the end of November 2022, four disabled candidates had accepted offers to work at the Romeoville Innovation Restaurant, and

McDonald's was awarded the Employer Innovation Award by the State of Illinois. McDonald's USA continues to evaluate the success of this program and aims to set a roadmap for corporate-owned stores going forward. IDHS-DRS was highlighted in McDonald's Global Diversity Annual Report.

Employer Networking Event for People with disabilities

The Employer Networking Event for People with Disabilities, located at the Central West Community Center in Chicago, Il, took place in July 2023. The event was hosted by the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities and co-sponsored by community rehabilitation provider, Ada S. McKinley, and the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Rehabilitation. In total, 26 employers attended as exhibitors, many of whom are IDHS-IDHS-DRS workforce partners, as well as over 100 job seekers. Employers had the opportunity to meet talented individuals with disabilities seeking career opportunities. Watch the full report here.

Cook County Career Pathway Navigator Program Press Event

IDHS-DRS joined partners at scaleLIT, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, IDES, SERCO and other workforce systems in Cook County on May 17th to celebrate the successes and collaborations of workforce agencies, employers and most importantly job seekers that tirelessly put in the effort to advance disability hiring in Cook County and the rest of the State. Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and her office joined us and gave a brief overview of systems and resources in place in Cook County to advance this collective mission.

Pictured: IDHS-DRS staff, workforce partners from ScaleLIT and SERCO, local government officials, job seekers with disabilities, local employers, and Cook County Board President, Toni Preckwinkle.