(20 ILCS 661/20)
Sec. 20. Duties of the enlisted nonprofit organization.
(a) The high speed Internet deployment strategy and demand creation initiative to be performed by the nonprofit organization shall include, but not be limited to, the following actions:
(1) Create a geographic statewide inventory of high
speed Internet service and other relevant broadband and information technology services. The inventory shall:
(A) identify geographic gaps in high speed
Internet service through a method of GIS mapping of service availability and GIS analysis at the census block level;
(B) provide a baseline assessment of statewide
high speed Internet deployment in terms of percentage of Illinois households with high speed Internet availability; and
(C) collect from Facilities-based Providers of
Broadband Connections to End User Locations the information provided pursuant to the agreements entered into with the non-profit organization as of the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly or similar information from Facilities-based Providers of Broadband Connections to End User Locations that do not have the agreements on said date.
For the purposes of item (C), "Facilities-based
Providers of Broadband Connections to End User Locations" shall have the same meaning as that term is defined in Section 13-407 of the Public Utilities Act.
(2) Track and identify, through customer interviews
and surveys and other publicly available sources, statewide residential and business adoption of high speed Internet, computers, and related information technology and any barriers to adoption.
(3) Build and facilitate in each county or designated
region a local technology planning team with members representing a cross section of the community, including, but not limited to, representatives of business, K-12 education, health care, libraries, higher education, community-based organizations, local government, tourism, parks and recreation, and agriculture. Each team shall benchmark technology use across relevant community sectors, set goals for improved technology use within each sector, and develop a plan for achieving its goals, with specific recommendations for online application development and demand creation.
(4) Collaborate with high speed Internet providers
and technology companies to encourage deployment and use, especially in underserved areas, by aggregating local demand, mapping analysis, and creating market intelligence to improve the business case for providers to deploy.
(5) Collaborate with the Department in developing a
program to increase computer ownership and broadband access for disenfranchised populations across the State. The program may include grants to local community technology centers that provide technology training, promote computer ownership, and increase broadband access.
(6) Collaborate with the Department and the Illinois
Commerce Commission regarding the collection of the information required by this Section to assist in monitoring and analyzing the broadband markets and the status of competition and deployment of broadband services to consumers in the State, including the format of information requested, provided the Commission enters into the proprietary and confidentiality agreements governing such information.
(b) The nonprofit organization may apply for federal grants consistent with the objectives of this Act.
(c) The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity shall use the funds in the High Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Fund to (1) provide grants to the nonprofit organization enlisted under this Act and (2) for any costs incurred by the Department to administer this Act.
(d) The nonprofit organization shall have the power to obtain or to raise funds other than the grants received from the Department under this Act.
(e) The nonprofit organization and its Board of Directors shall exist separately and independently from the Department and any other governmental entity, but shall cooperate with other public or private entities it deems appropriate in carrying out its duties.
(f) Notwithstanding anything in this Act or any other Act to the contrary, any information that is designated confidential or proprietary by an entity providing the information to the nonprofit organization or any other entity to accomplish the objectives of this Act shall be deemed confidential, proprietary, and a trade secret and treated by the nonprofit organization or anyone else possessing the information as such and shall not be disclosed.
(g) The nonprofit organization shall provide a report to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability on an annual basis for the first 3 complete State fiscal years following its enlistment.
(Source: P.A. 95-684, eff. 10-19-07; 96-927, eff. 6-15-10.)
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Last modified: February 18, 2015