The new Dell lattitudes have the option to upgrade to an illuminated keyboard. Dunno how much it costs. Supposed to be good laptops those so they might be worth a look.
my Dell Studio has illuminated keys. Im sure if you got the 15" and didn't get all the other fancy upgrades, besides the illuminated keyboard obviously, you could get a laptop with it for under 1k.
Why do you want illuminated keys though? i got it because I thought it would be cool and little helpful at times, and it is, that's ALL it is haha I rarely use it cause i can type without having to look at the keyboard. i occasionally flip it on though