The Chicago Lighthouse for The Blind is a non-profit 501 C (3) organization that serves people who are blind or visually impaired, some with additional disabilities. It is JWOD/AbilityOne approved for the Federal Government, and BEPD (Business Enterprise for Physically Disabled) for the City of Chicago. Chicago Lighthouse is also approved for the Illinois State Use program, and considered countable as a business owned by a disabled person(s).

Chicago Lighthouse is a state-of-the-art manufacturer of high-quality products for the commercial and government markets. CLI has been producing precision wall clocks for over 25 years and today offers a wide selection to meet every need, including custom clocks. Sales were once confined to the Federal and State of Illinois markets. Today Chicago Lighthouse reaches many customers in the commercial office products sector through independent dealers, buying groups and contract stationers.

CLI’s top-quality Wall Clock product line has the best warranty in the business. Every Clock is inspected and tested before it is packaged and shipped. All clocks are proudly assembled in Chicago by employees who are blind or visually impaired, along with additional disabilities. This made-in-America operation allows CLI to meet customers’ custom requests in a relatively short number of days – many customers purchase these clocks to meet their diversity purchasing
goals.

Today, Chicago Lighthouse probably offers the widest array of services for people who are blind or visually impaired of any local or national organization. More than 20 programs are designed to serve people who are blind, from infants to seniors, and provide education and training, counseling, employment, job placement, and senior citizen services.

The latest additions to its services include a radio broadcast program that provides a reading service for people who are blind; the Illinois Instructional Material Center, which provides large print and Braille books in addition to adaptive technology to more than 3,000 school age children who are blind or visually impaired in Illinois under contract with the state; and the Recipient Identification Number Program, an internet based service operation that employs people who are blind and with other disabilities under contract with the state of Illinois.

Chicago Lighthouse maintains its own supplier diversity program. 95% of the labor in the production of CLI Clocks is by people who are blind or visually impaired. 33% of agency staff of 180 are disabled. And CLI purchases office and janitorial supplies from JWOD/Ability organizations that employ people who are disabled.

In 2007, Chicago Lighthouse mandated its staff and participants to attend cultural diversity training. Workplace diversity increasingly focuses on creating a respectful, inclusive work environment where every employee has the opportunity to meaningfully contribute in the workplace.

CLI programs and Wall Clock production have been featured in many national and local news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Los Angeles Times, and Washington Post. Activities have been covered by local television and radio stations on numerous occasions. The CLI facility has been visited by Senator Barack Obama and Mayor Richard Daley, and its efforts been strong encouraged. CLI has also won the Design Journal Best of Show awards for our wall clocks at the NeoCon in 1999, 2002, 2003 and 2005.