WAMPSVILLE, MADISON COUNTY -- People with disabilities say the Madison County Courthouse is not handicapped accessible, and now they're doing something about it.
Paul Brown is a quadriplegic and uses a wheelchair. He says if he ever wanted to watch court proceedings, he couldn't. There are 16 stairs leading to the front door.
"It's not fun being in a chair in the first place, but when you can't get in the building it's even more frustrating," says Brown.
Vince Rogowski says he can make it up those front steps, but he can't make it up the marble ones inside. Both men say they've had enough. They say the building is not handicapped accessible, and that's why they've filed a lawsuit against the county.
"It's more of an attitude problem than it is a physical barrier because if the attitudes were correct, it would have been corrected years ago," says Rogowski.
The legal complaint says, "These Plaintiffs have been discriminated against and are treated differently than non-disabled persons all to the detriment of their constitutional, statuatory, and civil rights."
There are also other areas of the building, including some offices and a bathroom, that are accessible, but Brown and Rogowski say there are no elevators that would allow them to access the courts.
Madison County Administrator Paul Miller says the county provides alternate locations for any people with disabilities who need to use the court system. He also says there is no easy fix, and anything that would help overcome the problem would likely cost millions of dollars.
