This guidebook is intended as a road map to the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Technical Education Act of 1998 (Perkins III) for career-technical education (CTE) practitioners and policymakers in Illinois. The following topics are among those covered: (1) framework for Perkins III (national educational reform, Illinois provisions for quality CTE, stages of career development); (2) Perkins III accountability (Perkins II versus Perkins III, program and fiscal accountability; (3) gathering and using data to improve performance (collecting and reporting data in Illinois, designing a systematic improvement process); (4) the continuum of quality support for learners; and (5) a crosswalk with other initiatives (common themes and interface of educational reform laws, the report "New American High Schools"). Ninety-seven charts are included. The bibliography lists 147 references. The following items are appended: (1) glossary of terms; (2) glossary of acronyms; and (3) summaries of seven pieces of federal educational legislation concerned with CTE, school-to-careers, workforce development, and individuals with disabilities. Concluding the guide are the following resources: strategies to assist individuals with disabilities; work-related student competencies; workplace skills and career development competencies; ideas and strategies to achieve Perkins core indicators; and lists of 202 World Wide Web resources, 9 additional publications, and 19 additional organizations. (MN)