On May 2025, seven counties in Illinois completed the Broadband Breakthrough program. The Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, Illinois Broadband Lab, University of Illinois Extension, Illinois State University, and new program partner, Reid Consulting Group, worked closely with county teams to explain the broadband planning process, deliver data, and administer a county wide broadband survey.

Benton and RCG also implemented a new feature of the program—we facilitated communications with local ISPs. To complement these conversations, the Illinois Broadband Lab provided a one-page explainer on the various ways communities might support ISP applications for Connect Illinois Round 4, funded by the BEAD program.

Each county in the cohort experienced unique challenges and formed various strategies for improving their broadband infrastructure. Here are some of the highlights:

Fulton County

Fulton County, led by Fulton County Economic Development Director, Michelle Spiva, learned that Mid-Century Fiber has received funding to build in several rural communities. Outreach to Mid-Century confirmed this. In addition, the Fulton County community survey received the highest per capita response rate of any county in the cohort.

Lake County

Lake County’s large Broadband Breakthrough team involved its existing broadband and digital equity partners during the 12-week program. The team, led by Lake County officials, Matthew Meyers, Keay Crandall, and Betsy Brandon, included a broad representation of organizations from around the County, including the county’s Digital Navigators, allowing for consensus building around community needs. With a large team, implementation of next steps will be more effective and efficient.

McHenry County

McHenry County, led by County Director of Procurement & Special Services, Adam Letendre, is in discussions with multiple ISPs. The County Board is highly active and motivated to support ISP applications for BEAD. Sharon Communications from Wisconsin, a former telephone company with over 100 years of experience, has expanded into Illinois and has expressed interest in areas of need identified by the McHenry team.

Marshall County

Marshall County’s team is led by Travis McGlasson, Vice Chairman of the Marshall County Board. Many of the County’s BEAD eligible areas coincide with potential “fiberhoods” identified by RCG’s analysis. This would amplify BEAD investment as providers could easily expand fiber networks into areas that are not BEAD eligible.

Macoupin County

Macoupin County, led by Board Member Holly Klausing, has kept their county economic development committee up to date on their ISP outreach. While having a smaller team, dispersing information to leadership of other county organizations will amplify the impact of their Broadband Breakthrough participation.

Montgomery County

Montgomery County’s team is led by Bill Montgomery. Their community survey received many responses from agricultural entities. Among these respondents, only 2% indicated that they are satisfied with how their cellular/hotspot connections support business functions. This highlights a need for improved infrastructure among agricultural entities in the county.

Pike County

Pike County’s team is led by Director of the Pike County Chamber & EDC, Jamie Beasley. Jenna Morrow, Pike-Scott Farm Bureau Director, also played a key role on the team. ISU’s agricultural analysis showed a $10m in potential additional annual yield if all farmers had access to high-quality broadband. Sixty-four percent of Ag entities surveyed were willing to host fixed wireless infrastructure on their property.

At the end of the program, each county received a variety of resources to aid them in their broadband planning and implementation activities in the future.

Cohort 4 Responding to Changes in the BEAD Program

On June 26, Broadband Breakthrough cohort 4 participants attended a meeting with the Illinois Office of Broadband and Illinois Broadband Lab to discuss BEAD changes and their impact in Illinois. Despite changes from the June 6 BEAD restructuring order, the cohort is well-positioned to continue to improve broadband access in their counties, much in part due to the relationships established via the ISP matchmaking meetings, extensive surveying conducted by each county, and the specific county resources provided by the Benton-RCG-U of I Extension-ISU team.