Settlement with AMC Movie Theaters.

For Immediate Release Media
Contact: Maura Possley

April 4, 2012
312-814-3118


mpossley@atg.state.il.us

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MADIGAN ANNOUNCES SETTLEMENT WITH AMC THEATRES



Settlement Provides Unprecedented Access for People with Disabilities to Go
to the Movies



Chicago - Attorney General Lisa Madigan today announced a landmark
settlement with Illinois' largest movie theater operator that will provide
unprecedented access for people with hearing and vision disabilities.



Madigan said the settlement with AMC Theatres, based in Kansas City, Mo.,
will provide personal captioning services and audio-description technology
for movie-goers with hearing and vision disabilities at all of its theaters
and its 460 movie screens.



"This technology will allow people with disabilities to enjoy a movie right
alongside their friends and families unlike ever before," Madigan said.



Madigan was joined today at AMC River East 21, 322 E. Illinois St., by AMC
representatives and disability rights supporters to detail the settlement.
By 2014, AMC movie theaters will be equipped with captioning services and
audio-description devices. The technology will be available to movie-goers
at nearly any movie at an AMC theater and at all of a film's listed
showings.



The Attorney General's settlement is a significant development for people
living with disabilities in Illinois. Prior to the agreement, Madigan said,
only 21 out of 246 movie theaters in Illinois offered closed-captioning
services and only 10 offered audio-description services. The settlement
arose out of concerns brought to the Attorney General's Office in 2010 by
Equip for Equality, the federally funded advocacy agency for people with
disabilities in Illinois. At the time, only a small fraction of movie
theaters offered the technology for only a limited number of movies and
usually at showings set at off hours.



"AMC is committed to providing the best possible moviegoing experience for
all of our guests, which includes the conversion to digital presentation,"
said Noel MacDonald, vice president of Operations at AMC Theatres. "For the
past several years we've worked with suppliers to develop digital assistive
technologies that can be implemented on a broad scale. We're excited that
this technology allows everyone to join us at an AMC theatre. "



"Our clients are thrilled with the comprehensive agreement reached by the
Illinois Attorney General and AMC," said Amy Peterson, senior attorney for
Equip for Equality. "Under the agreement, people who are deaf, hard of
hearing, and blind will now be able to fully enjoy going to the movies, like
all other citizens of Illinois."



This case was handled by Madigan's Disability Rights Bureau Chief Nicki
Bazer. Madigan's Disability Rights Bureau enforces state and federal laws
that protect the rights of people with disabilities to equal access to
places of public accommodation, housing, and local government programs and
services.