Open Source Software

The State of Illinois spends millions of taxpayer dollars on proprietary software and operating systems for computer systems. Often this locks the State into expensive sole-source procurement arrangements. At the same time, some of the largest Corporations in the United States are saving millions of dollars by using freely available Open Source solutions, solutions which use standard document formats. The Open Source Movement is emerging as a competitive rival to privately developed and marketed software, producing programs of equal or better reliability and security. The State of Illinois needs to be at the forefront of this new wave of technology development.

If elected, therefore:

• I will permit all State agencies wishing to install Open Source Software to bypass bureaucratic procurement requirements. Purchases of proprietary software will require written certification that open source alternatives were not available.
• I will procure only software that stores, loads and transmits information in industry standard formats, for which full technical specifications are available. Procurement of systems that require closed licenses or use vendor-specific formats would be permitted only if no alternative is available.
  
• State documents available in electronic format will use industry standard formats.
• In order to encourage competitive software development in the State of Illinois, I will encourage State agencies to initiate transitions to open source operating systems and productivity software.
  
• I will make technology that has been developed at public expense, a publicly owned resource. Software that has been developed at public expense will be released under an open source license, making it free for all citizens to use.