(WAND) - Governor JB Pritzker announced the state is releasing $50 million in funding for the second round of matching grants through Connect Illinois, the state's $420 million statewide broadband expansion plan.
Illinois' Office of Broadband will support expanded connections in communities across the state through an application that is available starting Monday, Oct. 19. The application will be open through February 2021.
"Connect Illinois is the largest and best crafted state matching grant program for broadband development in our nation's history," Gov. Pritzker said. "It leverages state dollars to bring federal and private dollars in, more than doubling the number of dollars getting put to work to upgrade our digital infrastructure and delivering demonstrable change to people's lives and real opportunity for new business development and new jobs. The ability to plug in to the digital revolution revolutionized the lives and livelihoods of so many Illinoisans before COVID-19 - and the lack of fast internet access had unacceptable consequences for too many of our residents. Connect Illinois is about giving all our communities access to 21st century digital connectivity for health care, education, and economic opportunity."
The first round of funding supported 28 projects collectively slated to support over 26,000 new or enhanced connections serving every corner of the state.
Eligible applicants include service providers, rural cooperatives, nonprofits, and local governments.
Up to $5 million per project is available for the second round. More rounds are expected to follow over the next several years.
The second round of Connect Illinois calls for a nonstate match component requiring companies to dedicate funding that will accelerate the delivery of broadband investments.
