Illinois, Indiana receive federal funding to enhance internet

The state of Illinois was selected to receive $253 million to provide affordable, reliable high-speed internet to its residents.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - The state of Illinois was selected to receive $253 million to provide affordable, reliable high-speed internet to its residents.

The money will be doled out over several years and focused on rural areas that lack internet access as well as communities on the south and west sides of Chicago.

The money will come from the American Rescue Plan, and it is expected to connect over 80,000 Illinois households and businesses.

However, it's going to take a while for the hook-ups to begin.

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"I would say it might take a year for the federal dollars that we're seeing today to actually reach communities in Chicago, but it's not for lack of there being progress already on the state level, it's just that it takes a little time to get these dollars to work," said Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker.

Illinois, Indiana and North Carolina all received broadband funding in this round.

According to officials, $3.7 billion in all was offered to states for enhanced internet.