Dear Senator Durbin:

We encourage your support with the following, as you see appropriate. We believe that changes to BEAD could slow down broadband deployment by 1-2 years and encourage your support to preserve Illinois’ autonomy to run BEAD in a way that best serves our communities.

We support the message conveyed by over 115 Bipartisan State Legislators in a letter sent to U.S. Commerce Secretary Lutnick, “if NTIA changes program conditions, we ask that those changes be optional rather than mandatory. We are concerned that mandatory changes will undermine state authority over state programs (a central feature of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law), undo our BEAD and DE plans, and delay broadband deployment by a year or more.”

The Illinois Waterway (ILWW) Ports Commission is a special government district serving ten rural, riverfront counties in Central and North Central Illinois. The most recent report shows over 11.8 million tons of goods and products shipped in and out of the ILWW Ports Commission. Over 60% of the goods shipped were attributed to supporting our local farmers. Throughout the ILWW Ports Commission there are over 3.2 million acres of farmland, and the market value of products sold exceeded $3.2 billion.

The primary users of the multi-modal transportation system support our farmers. Increased access to adequate broadband directly impacts productivity and ultimately the regional and global supply chain. Improving, without delay, local broadband infrastructure and increasing internet speeds is critical to the success of the farmers, rural communities and the multimodal users of the Illinois Waterway. Rural Illinois residents have gone too long without adequate broadband access.

During the Wave 1 application process for BEAD funding, at the request of our partner counties, the ILWW Ports Commission along with two of our regional port district partners and the Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs submitted 27 letters of support to internet service providers. As reported by the Illinois Office of Broadband there were “238 proposals covering 86% of eligible locations in just the first application wave, Illinois is on track to achieve its mandate to connect 100% of locations and break ground on projects in 2026.

The ILWW Ports Commission simply cannot be a modern, sustainable, rural, regional, multi-modal, inland port without broadband access. The ILWW Ports Commission values investment in communications infrastructure as much as needed multi-modal transportation, natural, energy, and water resources infrastructure investment. Rural Illinois is a nationally and globally significant part of the supply chain.

Please do not hesitate to contact myself or Chris Smith (chris.smith@cornbeltports.com) if additional information is required.

Sincerely,

Travis McGlasson
Chairman of the Board
Illinois Waterway Ports Commission
456 Fulton St
Peoria, IL 61602

The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society is a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, High-Performance Broadband regardless of where they live or who they are. We believe communication policy - rooted in the values of access, equity, and diversity - has the power to deliver new opportunities and strengthen communities.

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