League of Illinois Bicyclists
Making Illinois better through biking!
Mission
Ride Illinois is a nonprofit organization making Illinois better through biking! We push for bike-friendly roads and trails, advocate for favorable legislation, and educate bicyclists and motorists. Learn more at rideillinois.org.
Notes from the nonprofit
4/29/23: The Ride Illinois board adopted a new strategic plan which the organization will begin working on immediately. Please contact us at [email protected] with questions the organization, our mission and our priorities.
Ruling year
1996
Executive Director
Mr. David R Simmons
Main address
815 Leicester Rd Apt 314
Elk Grove Village, IL 60007 USA
Formerly known as
League of Illinois Bicyclists
Ride Illinois
EIN
36-3823236
NTEE code
(Amateur Sports Clubs, Leagues, N.E.C.) (N60)
IRS filing requirement
This organization is required to file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ.
Sign in or create an account to view Form(s) 990 for 2022, 2021 and 2020.
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Communication
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Incorporated in 1992, Ride Illinois is a well-respected, expert advocate for people who ride bikes in Illinois. Making Illinois better through biking is more than a tagline; it is the mission to improve safety, so biking remains a healthy lifestyle, a practical transportation option, as well as a boost to tourism and a healthy environment. The board is determined to build on 30 years of accomplishment for bicycling and become the go-to organization for action. Ride Illinois strives to be known as: • The go-to advocacy organization in the state • The organization that led efforts to eliminate or greatly reduce bicyclist fatalities in Illinois • The organization that helped Illinois become a top-5 Bicycle Friendly State • The organization whose efforts made biking an everyday option for personal mobility
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
BikeSafetyQuiz.com
This quiz is provided by Ride Illinois, a statewide non-profit organization, as a convenient, interactive way for bicyclists and motorists to learn more about safely sharing our roads. The Secretary of State is one of our project partners.
The Adult Bicyclist quiz has 35 multiple-choice questions divided into Bronze (10 questions), Silver (13), and Gold (12) levels. The questions cover on-road and off-road situations, skills and techniques, common mistakes, and relevant laws.
You'll likely find many questions challenging. That's OK! The feedback provided to your answers is meant to be the teaching method. We will re-ask those questions you miss - you get up to three chances to correctly answer each question. Once you answer each question in one level correctly, you may move up to the next level. The highest priority questions are in Bronze but see if you can get the Gold!
Let's Ride, Illinois
Let’s Ride, Illinois is a celebration of the freedom and benefits that riding a bike offers. The inaugural year for this event was 2021.
The associated, community bike rides (no more than 10 miles) are free of charge and open to all. This event encourages adults and children from Rockford to Cairo (and all places in between) to enjoy a casual bike ride with their neighbors and to experience their community by bike.
Learn more at https://rideillinois.org/events/lets-ride-illinois-2021/
Regional Action Teams
In order to increase Ride Illinois’ influence and impact throughout the state, attract new individual and corporate members, expand our educational efforts, and generate additional revenue for current and future programs, Ride Illinois has formed four volunteer Regional Action Teams. Members of the RATs will assist Ride Illinois with advocacy, education, outreach, communication, and more!
Learn more at https://rideillinois.org/advocacy/regional-action-teams/
BikeSafetyQuiz Mini-Grants
Thanks to IDOT’s Injury Prevention funding, we are reimbursing Illinois schools $2 per student, for staff time to assign and use our free, online BikeSafetyQuiz (BSQ) lessons as 20-30 minute online assignments. Since 2018, more than 85,000 Illinois students have used the interactive, quiz-based BSQ resource to close an education gap and to make our roads safer.
Mini-grants are available for three different BSQ lessons and student audiences:
• Child Bicyclist Quiz for elementary schools – 4th and 5th grades, or younger with adult help.
• Adult Bicyclist Quiz for high school Physical Education or Health students.
• Motorist/Driver Education Quiz for high school Driver Education students.
Quizzes are available in English and Spanish. Learn more at https://rideillinois.org/safety/bsqgrants/
Ride Illinois Safely
The goal of the Ride Illinois Safely program is to make bike education courses and resources accessible to adults and children across Illinois. Educational content and courses are tailored to different age groups through a variety of methods – online (live), on-demand, and in-person.
The fee for each course differs depending on the number of participants. Some funding is available to ensure cost is not a barrier to bike education.
Learn more at https://rideillinois.org/safety/education/
Where we work
External reviews
Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Total number of organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
goal for number of members for fiscal year
Number of community initiatives in which the organization participates
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Let's Ride, Illinois
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of community rides associated with our Let's Ride, Illinois event
Number of public events held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Ride Illinois Safely
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of course requests received, and ideally completed, through our Ride Illinois Safely program
Number of volunteers
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Regional Action Teams
Type of Metric
Outcome - describing the effects on people or issues
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Number of individuals who apply to join our Regional Action Team volunteer program
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Goal: Eliminate (or greatly reduce) bicyclist injuries and fatalities in Illinois
Strategies to Accomplish Goal
• Influence and Prioritize IDOT Policy and State/Local Legislation
• Awareness and Outreach (Make safety our #1 message)
• Further develop the Regional Action Team (RAT) program
• Develop Safe Biking (and Walking) curriculum for K-12 schools in Illinois
• Education of law enforcement on laws that pertain to people on bikes
• Enhance the Ride Illinois Safely program, including BikeSafetyQuiz
• Develop and implement an Internship Program
• Form committees that focus on Advocacy and Education
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Ride Illinois will continue to promote bicycling for transportation which is a sustainable mode of travel that has a positive impact on individuals, communities, and the planet. We'll expand our efforts to improve infrastructure and safety for people outside of motor vehicles (aka as Vulnerable Road Users), including people who walk, use wheelchairs, and micro-mobility devices.
More trips by bike have a positive impact on personal health – physical, mental, and emotional. Communities also benefit from more trips by bike! The air is cleaner and stronger bonds are established amongst neighbors.
Ride Illinois will improve our safety and education resources in order to make them more widely available. Initial discussions about translating resources to additional languages have begun.
The majority of Ride Illinois' advocacy, education, and awareness efforts will also improve conditions for those who ride a bike for recreation, exercise, and touring.
Lastly, Ride Illinois strives to build community by bike. More information can be found at https://rideillinois.org/rideil-community-update/. "Building community by bike" means that we are actively involved and engaged at the community level. We assist with planning and attend community-focused events that promote biking for recreation and transportation. We've established strong ties to a number of communities in Illinois as a result of this welcoming approach.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
All of our efforts are centered on advocacy, education, and awareness that the humble bicycle has so much potential to improve lives. Through established programs, such as Ride Illinois Safely (education) and our Regional Action Teams (volunteers), we're making progress on the problems that we aim to solve.
Events that Ride Illinois organizes such as Let's Ride, Illinois and Bike to the Boomer aim to promote the many benefits of biking to adults and children in Illinois. Partnering on events such as the Street Love Ride, Ride with D45, and We Keep You Rollin's Annual Lucas Legacy ride offer opportunities to get involved with a wide range of people and communities.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Recently, Ride Illinois was a key player in the push for bike-friendly legislation, such as HB270 which will result in more infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians in Illinois communities. Also, we have begun work advocating for an e-bike incentive program in Illinois which will lower the barrier of entry for purchasing an e-bike for low and middle income Illinois residents.
Collaboration with community organizations and building the "Ride Illinois community" is an ongoing and rewarding endeavor. We have already established meaningful relationships with several organizations and the people the serve. We aim to learn about the barriers to biking that adults and children face, and then offer potential solutions.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To inform the development of new programs/projects, To strengthen relationships with the people we serve, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
We don't have any major challenges to collecting feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
League of Illinois Bicyclists
Board of directorsas of 05/11/2023
Mrs. Cynthia Hoyle
Hoyle Consulting, LLC
Term: 2026 - 2023
Don Dirks
Prairie State Legal Services, Inc.
Patrick Smith
Deloitte
Trevor Cottle
Illinois State Board of Education
Katie Ancell
Psychologist
Angela Brooks
Illinois Program at Corporation for Supportive Housing
Bob Hoel
Illinois Institute of Technology
George Fero
McKendree University
Dick Westfalll
Illinois Department of Natural Resources (retired)
Mike Keating
Keating Law Offices
Linda Warner
Stopping Woman Abuse Now (SWAN)
Deborah Liu
Graduate Research Assistant at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Ginger Wheeler
Marketing and Communication
Ripujit Singh
Microsoft
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Not applicable -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
Disability
We do not display disability information for organizations with fewer than 15 staff.
Equity strategies
Last updated: 10/23/2021GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
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