[ Search ] [ Legislation ]
[ Home ] [ Back ] [ Bottom ]
| [ Engrossed ] | [ House Amendment 001 ] |
91_HB4270
LRB9112135WHcs
1 AN ACT to eliminate the digital divide.
2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3 represented in the General Assembly:
4 Section 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the
5 Eliminate the Digital Divide Act.
6 Section 5. Statement of legislative findings and
7 purposes. The General Assembly finds that the growth of high
8 technology industry, including computers, the Internet, and
9 advanced telecommunications, has created a division in
10 society. Those who are able to master the tools of the new
11 digital technology and have access to the technology have
12 benefited in the form of improved employment possibilities
13 and a higher standard of life. Those who are unfamiliar with
14 the new technologies, or do not have access to them, are
15 increasingly constrained to marginal employment and a
16 standard of living near the poverty level. This "digital
17 divide" parallels existing economic, racial, and gender
18 divisions in society, with the more privileged members of
19 society having much greater opportunity to benefit from the
20 new technologies than those who are less favorably situated.
21 It is the purpose of this Act to establish educational and
22 economic development initiatives that will bridge the digital
23 divide, making possible a society in which all individuals
24 can benefit from the opportunities provided by the new
25 technologies.