Pritzker boosts broadband across state
First round of $50M grants more than doubled by matches; guv says need ‘has never been more urgent’ in pandemic
Gov. Pritzker announces a $5 million grant to Geneseo Communications Wednesday, part of a $115 million investment in expanded internet access across the state. (Twitter/Gov. J.B. Pritzker)
By Ted Cox
The governor announced the first round of $50 million in grants for rural broadband and expanded internet access across the state Wednesday, an amount more than doubled by matching grants to bring the total initial investment to $115 million.
Gov. Pritzker and other state leaders said the need for a level playing field on the internet “has never been more urgent” given the social disparities magnified during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s the first round of grants under the $420 million Connect Illinois program for expanded broadband access statewide — a program that predates the pandemic’s arrival earlier this year. But as businesses were shut down and forced to move online, it made the need to invest in rural broadband abundantly clear.
“Connect Illinois is about the right of all our communities to access health care, education, and economic opportunity — because in the 21st century all those rights are tied to digital connectivity,” Pritzker said in a news conference at Olson Acres Farms in Geneseo, expected to be one of the beneficiaries of the expansion thanks to a $5 million grant to Geneseo Communications. “The unacceptable consequences of disparities in broadband access were clear before the COVID-19 pandemic — and over the last few months, we’ve seen firsthand what it means when a small business that had to close its doors has no online shop, what it means when an elderly couple has no safe way to get medical advice at a distance, what it means when a child has no ability to access homework assignments online. This work has never been more urgent — the disadvantages that persist when our communities are left out of opportunity demand ambitious efforts to bring them to a close.”
Expanded internet access is key to revitalizing small towns and rural areas. It’s essential to leveling the playing field statewide in education, and it could potentially make telecommuting possible from anywhere — a possibility realized by many workers during the recent stay-at-home order imposed to minimize spread of the coronavirus. Farming is likewise becoming increasingly dependent on access to the internet. Now Pritzker and the state are following through to provide the infrastructure to make those dreams a reality.
“Reliable and affordable broadband service is a necessity for the success of agriculture and the quality of farm family life,” said Richard Guebert Jr., president of the Illinois Farm Bureau. “The recent COVID-19 situation has further highlighted the importance of broadband connectivity. Improving broadband service will help revitalize rural Illinois and boost our economy. The Illinois Farm Bureau appreciates the state of Illinois providing grants for broadband service in areas where it is most needed.”
Olson Acres Farms was selected as site for Wednesday’s news conference because it’s a prime example of rural businesses that stand to benefit. Geneseo Communications is getting the maximum $5 million grant in the first round, and it’s expected “to serve nearly 4,000 businesses, farms, households, and anchor institutions in Henry and Rock Island counties located in northwestern Illinois,” according to a news release from the Governor’s Office. The Geneseo Rural fiber-to-the-home project “will transform underserved areas into highly productive rural communities, opening doors to advancements such as precision agriculture.”
“High-speed internet access is just as important to a farmer in Henry County as it is to a corporation in a downtown Chicago high-rise,” said Mike McClain, chief executive officer of Geneseo Communications. “Due to the lack of density in most counties in Illinois, it is cost-prohibitive to build direct fiber internet access to homes or farms. Connect Illinois and Geneseo Communications will build direct fiber and Gigabit-level internet speeds to homes and farms in rural Henry County, putting our communities on a level playing field with the best-served cities across the globe.”
State grants were allotted with the requirement that recipients match at least 50 percent, and in the end the first round going to 28 projects including 18 internet service providers, along with rural cooperatives, nonprofits, and local governments, saw the total investment more than doubled from $50 million to $115 million.
“The first $50 million in Connect Illinois grants will expand broadband infrastructure to bring resources to communities that need it most, laying a foundation for continued economic growth,” said Michael Negron, acting director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. “Access to high-speed, reliable internet is essential for households and businesses across our state, and the governor’s plan provides a roadmap for our state to build 21st-century communities. Throughout this multiyear plan, DCEO is committed to ensuring this program benefits those that need it most — boosting education, jobs, and economic opportunity for all of Illinois in the process.”
Of the $420 million ultimately budgeted for Connect Illinois, with the goal to connect all communities statewide by 2024, $20 million is targeted specifically for public schools and higher education.
“High-speed internet is an absolute necessity for economic growth and our ability to deliver high-quality education and health care,” said state Sen. Andy Manar of Bunker Hill, a leading education reformer. “For rural families and businesses, the effects of the digital divide have been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Bold investments in broadband expansion under the Connect Illinois plan are the most impactful steps we can take to strengthen economic viability and secure a promising future for rural communities like those in Macoupin and northern Madison counties. I appreciate the Pritzker administration’s commitment to closing this disparity in all corners of our state.”
The grants included $1.9 million to Cook County to help wire southern suburbs frequently overlooked when it comes to internet access and other forms of economic development.
“Long before COVID-19 forced us to rely on high-speed Internet for much of our daily life, the governor's team was already laying the groundwork for reducing the ’digital divide’ in Illinois through by making reliable and affordable high-speed Internet available in communities where it's not available,” said state Rep. John Connor of Crest Hill. “If you don't have reliable high-speed internet available to you now in your neighborhood, today begins the solution to that problem so that soon you can use all those services that depend on fast, reliable internet.”
The Governor’s Office put out a list of those receiving the grants and a map of their reach across the state.