October 16, 2018
Good morning Tech Council members. If you haven't already done so, please RSVP to next months's meeting on November 12th. You can do so
here.
Since the last newsletter, Congress has been busy with hearings on tech policy, with data privacy driving most of the discussion. Most notably, the Senate Commerce Committee has been hearing testimony from stakeholders on the implications of a federal privacy law. The Chairman of the Committee, Sen. John Thune (R - S. Dakota) appears to be the lead on this issue and has been holding hearings the last month to gather ideas to incorporate them into a legislative package. However, timing likely paints a bleak outlook for this Congress to act on something as major as a national privacy law. The recent hearings likely suggest that the stage is being set for 2019. Stay tuned. In the meantime, our friends at the US Chamber introduced suggested privacy principles.
It is worth a look.
LEGISLATIVE IDEAS
The Tech Council is currently accepting ideas or recommendations for policy proposals. If you have an idea that you would like to turn into law or a recommend the Chamber take a position on an issue, please let me know.
AUTONOMOUS
ILLINOIS
EVENT
The Illinois Department of Transportation is pleased to invite Illinois Chamber members to a press event to launch "Autonomous Illinois," a new initiative to foster a safe, innovative environment for the seamless deployment of connected and automated vehicles (CAVs) and other transportation technologies. Join Illinois Department of Transportation Secretary Randy Blankenhorn, with additional community and business leaders, to celebrate the signing of an Executive Order that will establish an Autonomous Illinois public roads CAV testing program, as well as call on state agencies to collaborate on CAV opportunities, such as establishing Illinois as a hub for freight-related CAV testing and research. The press conference will be followed by demonstrations of these emerging technologies from Illinois-based companies such as Innova, Autobon, and Autonomous Stuff (invited). The event is on Thursday Oct. 25th from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Guaranteed Rate Field (home of the...White Sox!) Parking Lot A and B. Please e-mail me or respond to this email if you'd like to attend.
ILLINOIS' FUTURE OF TECHNOLOGY EVENT
Aso on the 25th, our friends at the Illinois Bicentennial are hosting an event (sponsored by Chamber-member Wintrust) at UI Labs from 5:30-7:30. Speakers include Betsy Ziegler of 1871, Caralynn Collens of UI Labs, Hardik Bhatt of Amazon, Kevin Willer of ChicagoVentures, and Tom Kuczmarski of Chicago Innovation. Please let me know if you are interested in attending this event no later than October 21.
ARTICLES OF INTEREST
