MCDONOUGH COUNTY, Ill. — The United States Department of Agriculture announced on Friday that McDonough Telephone Cooperative will receive an $18 million grant to help bring fiber-optic internet to four rural Illinois counties.
Awarded under its ReConnect Loan and Grant Program, the USDA created the grant to help fund projects that work to bring fiber-optic internet to rural Americans.
"We know that when we support rural people, and rural people can thrive, all of America can thrive," USDA Rural Development Undersecretary Xochitl Torres Small said at a press conference in Galesburg.
According to a McDonough Telephone Cooperative spokesperson, 1,583 people, 274 farms and 41 businesses throughout Henderson, Hancock, McDonough and Warren Counties will receive gigabit internet speeds, with the project beginning its construction in 2024.
Illinois Congressional representative Eric Sorensen (D-17) said the grant will help many rural Americans and let them make important connections.
"What does it mean if a child in a rural community doesn't have the ability to learn?" Sorensen said. "What is the impact if we don't connect our farmers to the information superhighway? We have to make sure that we're investing in rural locations because these are the places that up to today have been left out."
Henderson County resident and retired Illinois District Court Judge Hon. Stephen Evans currently has McDonough Telephone fiber internet, and he said it's a game-changer for people like him.
"Having been a rural resident for about 23 years on a farm with slow speeds, this is going to be a big boost," Evans said.
"We're doing so much court appearances by Zoom or something comparable to that, that if you don't have fast internet, you just can't participate."
You can find out if you'll be affected by the upgrade by clicking/tapping here.
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