[OLPC-Chicago] Illinois developments and HB5000

[Langellier, Larry]

Hi SJ,

There isn't much new that I have done recently regarding Illinois HB5000. As noted, it passed the Illinois House by a vote of 110-0-0. The bill arrived in the Illinois Senate on April 9 and was assigned to the Rules Committee, where it still sits. The status of the bill can be viewed at http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?DocNum=5000&GAID=9&DocTypeID=HB&LegId=35963&SessionID=51&GA=95. We have been contacting people from Illinois to make them aware of the bill and we have asked that they contact their Senator to voice support for the bill.

Beyond that, I am not involved in any attempts to modify the bill. I am very supportive of the bill as it is currently written, especially the provision that schools can locally choose which low-cost laptop to purchase. I like the possibility that this may lead to a "bake off" amongst different laptops. I believe the XO pilots will shine in side-by-side comparison with other pilots, in large part because I expect the local OLPC community to rally around and assist the schools that opt for the XO. I am impressed with the state-level leadership that developed this bill and will support their efforts to get the act passed.

Thanks for your interest,
Larry

________________________________
From: Samuel Klein [meta.sj at gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, April 23, 2008 1:34 AM
To: Edward Cherlin; Mel Chua; Ian Bicking
Cc: olpc-chicago at lists.laptop.org; Adam Holt; Langellier, Larry
Subject: Illinois developments and HB5000

Dear  OLPC Chicago,

Can someone tell me more about your meetings with the Lt Governor and his office?  Larry, I know you and a few others met with him and Ryan Croke at the start of last month; what communication has there been since?

We have also stayed in touch with that office, through Darah Tappitake; and they are organizing their own small 100-laptop trial in a school.  I don't know that we've done much in the way of specific outreach around HB5000, or that this would be appropriate for OLPC as an organization.  It is certainly appropriate for the local grassroots groups to support such legislation as they see fit.

To the extent that there are meetings and discussions about HB5000, and thoughts about what would best support the initiative from the local community, please update http://wiki.laptop.org/go/Illinois   with details.

Ed, I appreciate your focus on furthering this bill.  Please help everyone end up on the same page; beyond simply voicing frustrations.

Cheers,
SJ


On Wed, Apr 23, 2008 at 2:14 AM, Edward Cherlin <echerlin at gmail.com<mailto:echerlin at gmail.com>> wrote:
On Tue, Apr 22, 2008 at 10:46 PM, Martin Langhoff

>  >  Not my project! Illinois's! They asked me to make contact on their behalf.
>
>  Apologies. I am just trying to help.