Chicago mother finally gets new wheelchair lift for disabled son after FOX Chicago investigation
After FOX Chicago investigation, Chicago mother finally gets new wheelchair lift for disabled son
After months of delays, documented repair issues, and the threat of losing more than $13,000 in state funding, a Chicago family is finally receiving the wheelchair lift they say they desperately needed.
CHICAGO - After months of delays, documented repair issues, and the threat of losing more than $13,000 in state funding, a Chicago family is finally receiving the wheelchair lift they say they desperately needed.
FOX Chicago first introduced viewers to Cecilia Reed in May, when the 58-year-old South Side mother shared the daily challenges of caring for her 32-year-old son, Darrick Reed Jr., who lives with cerebral palsy and scoliosis.
When their exterior wheelchair lift failed, Reed said getting her son safely in and out of their home became her responsibility.
"Two other times I had to take him on my back because neither one of my neighbors were available," Reed said. "When it gets wet, it's an electrical issue... it stops working."
Documentation shows problems dating back to 2024
FOX Chicago obtained documentation showing the family's wheelchair lift experienced ongoing problems dating back to 2024.
Records detail repeated service calls and repairs over the past two years. Reed says those repairs never resolved the underlying issue.
"They were just patching it up," Reed said. "The last technician said I am just going to rig the electrical parts and even the contractors that are out here today installing says that is a definite no no."
As the lift continued to fail, Reed says she was forced to physically carry or support her 152-pound son on the stairs whenever the equipment stopped working.
"I am 58 years old," she said. "It's nothing I wouldn't do for my son, but to compromise my safety and his, to enter and exit a home is unfathomable."
Funding at risk
The Illinois Department of Human Services approved more than $13,800 in December 2025 for a replacement exterior wheelchair lift.
However, FOX Chicago previously learned the installation stalled because the required permit application had not been submitted to the City of Chicago. Without the permit, the project could not move forward, placing the state funding at risk of expiring before the June 30 deadline.
"If they do not install the lift by the 30th, the funds are no longer there and then you will have to reapply... and will you be granted those funds... I don't know," Reed said.
Installation day
On Monday, crews arrived at the family's home to remove the old lift and install a new one, ending months of uncertainty and years of recurring equipment failures.
For Reed, the moment represented far more than replacing a piece of machinery.
"I am not asking anyone to give me anything for free or any special services," she said. "As a veteran, I think I have served my country well enough to where as my son that has a disability and is a grandchild of veteran, my father was a veteran as well, that we should be able to get the services we need."
As the new lift was installed, Reed reflected on the journey that brought her family to this day.
"I would never take advantage of a person or be judgmental," she said.
"We have enough of that in the world," FOX Chicago's Tia Ewing responded.
For the Reed family, the installation marks the end of a difficult chapter.
The Source: The information in this article was reported by FOX Chicago's Tia Ewing.