A good portion of the OCPA staff is in Chicago this week for the 40th annual meeting of the American Legislative Exchange Council ALEC), a nonprofit organization comprised of state lawmakers and private-sector leaders. ALEC is devoted to the principles of free markets, limited government, and federalism, which is why several OCPA staffers are ALEC members. (Some, like my colleague Jonathan Small, actually hold key leadership positions in the organization.) Though some Oklahoma journalists think of ALEC as “controversial,” the organization’s positions are essentially in line with majority opinion in Oklahoma. So it makes sense that Gov. Mary Fallin, a former ALEC Legislator of the Year, is the featured lunch speaker today.

One government program which ALEC enthusiastically supports is the Lindsey Nicole Henry Scholarships for Students with Disabilities program. ALEC’s Melissa Sullivan blogged about it here, and I urge you to take a look.