2 MAY 2012 - 1508 CDT I am happy to announce that Illinois House Bill (HB1390) was passed by a vote of 106 to 10. This is, of course, the first of three steps before the terms of FCC PRB-1 become part of the Illinois Municipal Code. By the time HB1390 came to the house floor at 12:15 CDT today, it had picked up 20 co-sponsors. The keys to this success are: 1. having an active ham and ARRL member, as the principal sponsor, Rep Charles Krezwick, WC9V, IL District 37 2. having an effective SGL, Charlie Richey, K9DUE (a registered lobbyist) spend a lot of time helping HB1390's principal sponsor pick up key additional support. 3. obtain the active support of the Illinois Speaker Of The House, Michael Madigan. 4. getting hams in the Illinois legislative districts to send polite, effective requests for support of HB1390. The main rationale used for supporting this bill was Amateur Radio emergency and public service communications. We already have sponsor(s) lined up for the Illinois Senate proposed bill. At this time, I don't know the time frame for the senate bill. But I think it's a safe assumption that we will press for Illinois Senate approval before adjournment. 73 - Dick, W9GIG