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County prioritized in state broadband plan; $1.5M planning grant applied for trail project
Summary
County staff said Lee County is a top-priority county for Illinois broadband expansion, with 8,300 underserved households; the county is also submitting a planning grant request of about $1.5 million for a multiuse trail to Sauk Valley Community College.
An administrative staff member told the committee that Lee County is listed as a top priority for state broadband expansion and that the county is pursuing federal and state planning funds for a multiuse trail.
“Lee County was identified as 1 of actually the top priority county in the state of Illinois with 8,300 households that are considered underserved or unserved,” the staff member said, describing the county’s placement on the state list for broadband funding through the Illinois Broadband Group and the Broadband Breakthrough program.
Staff said the state expects to solicit ISP proposals in scheduled ‘waves,’ with Wave 1 proposals due at the end of the month and Wave 3 potentially in the summer if needed. The county said it has worked with four ISPs on applications; some providers are focusing on denser areas while others are proposing rural solutions.
Separately, county staff said the county will submit a planning grant application due Jan. 30 for about $1.5 million to support a multiuse trail from the City of Dixon to Sauk Valley Community College. Staff said Sauk Valley Community College’s planning director provided additional data to strengthen the application and that the current submission is the county’s fourth iteration of the planning grant.
No formal vote was taken on broadband funding at this meeting.
