Whitney Proposes Social Security "Security Plan"

NOTICE!

WTTW Gubernatorial Forum on Thursday, October 26

While the Whitney campaign vies for fair coverage from some
outlets, one outlet that is proving to be unbiased is WTTW-11,
Chicago's PBS station. This Thursday night at 7:00 they will
host a live gubernatorial forum from their North Side studios.
Rich Whitney is included, and Judy Baar Topinka will also
participate. Rod Blagojevich pulled out of the event several
weeks ago, consistent with his refusal to debate Rich Whitney in
any setting.

WSIU (Carbondale PBS) is also expected to air the forum at
broadcast time. Other PBS stations might do so as well; check
with your local PBS affiliate and if they do not have it
scheduled, ask them to air it at a later date. There may also be
some house parties associated with the airing. People in the
WTTW broadcast area are strongly encouraged to host small house
parties on their own where they invite people over to see the
televised forum so people can learn about Rich in a comfortable
setting. Contact Jessica Bradshaw, jbradshaw21@yahoo.com, if
you'd like to host such a house party and would like other ideas
or would like to invite people in your immediate area.

George Ochsenfeld
==============

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – October 25, 2006

WHITNEY ADDRESSES SECURITY VULNERABILITY, PROPOSES STATE PLAN

CONTACT:
Dave Sacks, Office Manager
Whitney for Governor, 773-557-9411
office@whitneyforgov.org

Rich Whitney, the Green Party's candidate for Illinois Governor, today responded to news that a security vulnerability at the Chicago Board of Elections has exposed the Social Security numbers and birth dates of more than 1 million registered voters to potential identity theft and other privacy violations.

"This regrettable and unfortunate incident underscores the need to improve information security in all government agencies, including within state government. I am proposing a stronger statewide information security strategy that includes three major components--prevention, detection, and response," said Whitney.

A key prevention component in Whitney's plan is the expanded use of open-source software in state government. "Not only is open-source software more secure than secret, closed-source, and proprietary software; but it is also significantly less expensive," said Tim Tacker, the campaign's Communication Director.

Whitney claims that a move to open-source software and other non-proprietary standards will be a boon to business because it will foster competition amongst software vendors in the state, rather than forcing consumers to be locked into non-compatible, proprietary solutions. In addition, Whitney has stated that any software developed for use by the state would also be made freely available to businesses and the public, significantly reducing their overall software costs.

"This proposal will allow us to better protect people's privacy rights. We will also be taking a leadership role in promoting competition in the information technology sector. Combined with full funding for schools, to ensure a well educated workforce, Illinois has the potential to lead the nation in this area," said Whitney.

The Whitney for Governor campaign website is built upon Joomla, a freely-available and open-source content management system.

MORE INFORMATION:
www.whitneyforgov.org
www.opensource.org