getting value from text box

[ksbrace]

Hello,
I have a link in the footer template of a datalist:

<TD><A href=&quot;datFemeca_Copy.aspx?GroupID=<%=lGroupID%>&quot; >Copy Existing FEMECA</A>

and I need to get the value of a text box that is in the item template of the datalist:

<asp:TextBox id=tbGroupID runat=&quot;server&quot; Visible=&quot;False&quot; Text='<%# CheckNoData(DataBinder.Eval(Container, &quot;DataItem.GroupID&quot;).tostring) %>'>
	</asp:TextBox></TD>

My problem is that when I click on the link, the datalist item command does not get fired. How can I retrieve the value from the text box and assign it to lGroupID? either in the HTML or the code behind. Thanks in advance!