Candycopia co-owner Alycia Mason shared on social media in early October that the Lake Street candy retailer faced a five-figure legal settlement over website ADA compliance.
Mason said in the video she trusted the website developers and the third-party Shopify apps being used as they are a small business and have not heavily invested in their online presence. What she didn’t realize was that the website was only about 92% ADA compliant, opening the store up to a lawsuit.
“I just want to share our experience that there are people that are preying on small businesses that don’t have the money to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars into development to make sure the site is right, and you get caught and you get a lawsuit and there’s nothing you can do,” said Mason in the video. “Let me save you the trouble and only pay engineering fees, so you do right by all the consumers.”
Website accessibility means that online information, tools and technology are not just available to everyone, but actually usable for everyone. There are a diverse range of online tools such as screen readers, alternative text for images, closed captioning, and speech-based decision-making using Siri that are only affective when websites are developed to work in tandem. Design elements of a website can also create barriers such as low contrast and specialized fonts that are not compatible with screen readers.
UsableNet published a 2026 Midyear Report in which researchers tracked digital accessibility lawsuits and analyzed trends. The report projects over 6,000 cases to be filed in 2026, a record, and Illinois is on the rise citing Equal Access Law Group PLLC as a driving force in the state.
ECommerce remains at the top of the industries targeted by these lawsuits at about 79% with the next sector, food industry, at only 14%. Businesses with revenue under $50 million make up about 68% of case fillings.
“eCommerce and food service dominate filings because that’s where commercial necessity meets everyday life online,” said the UsableNet report. “For a shopper who is blind or has low vision, an inaccessible checkout or ordering page isn’t an inconvenience; it’s a barrier to buying at all.”
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform called out “Abusive ADA Lawsuits” in 2022 stating “It is evident that in many ADA cases, plaintiffs’ lawyers are prioritizing monetary benefits over ADA compliance.”
However, behind the lawsuits and industry numbers are real people with real accessibility issues. Over a quarter of people in the United States, an estimated 70 million, reported living with a functional disability according to the CDC.
Wednesday Journal sat down with Progress Center for Independent Living in Forest Park to learn more.
“I believe that accessibility is not a case of, well, you have special needs, so we need to help you,” said Community Organizer Clark Craig. “No, we are people first, but we have to struggle with the limitations society places on how people can live in the community.”
Executive Director Horacio Esparza shared personal lived experience with online barriers buying airline tickets which can take him hours to navigate.
Katie O’Neill, who works on community reintegration, shared her experience with websites that focus on “aesthetics more than functionality,” such as flashing lights that prevent her from accessing them at all.
The internet can help break down physical barriers when accessibility is appropriately addressed, and the tools are not just there for those with a disability but make online experiences better for everyone.
“Why wouldn’t you want to make that easier for all your consumers in there for your business,” said O’Neill.
O’Neill also highlighted that anyone can develop a disability at any time and “if we are privileged to grow old, we will become disabled most likely in some capacity, so it’s really something that is around us all the time, and I don’t think people realize that.”
Program Director Eric Peebles said the internet has expanded access to many things for him such as online grocery shopping and signing documents.
“I was a small business owner for a while, and every small business owner wants to increase their footprint, draw in more customers,” said Peebles. “As I always say, people with disabilities are the greatest untapped resources for talent, and we want to engage in commerce, just like everybody else.”
Craig called out the misconceptions people have around the financial impact people with disabilities can have and businesses can lose out on.
“Sometimes people forget that people with disabilities is a huge market, and particularly people think people with disabilities are often poor people, but that’s not true. People with disabilities have money to contribute to the business environment,” said Craig.
The Progress Center team spoke to the importance of including people with disabilities in the conversations, decisions, and “all aspects of planning.”
“It’s huge because people without disabilities don’t have the lived experience and may miss some very obvious things,” said Craig.
The Illinois Assistive Technology Program offers resources to all who need them. More information on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines can be found on the Web Accessibility Initiative website.