Attend Meet & Greet with Illinois Office of Broadband
April 10, 2025 - 11 AM - 1 PM
Congresswoman Kelly Omnibus Funding
After 4 years, $14.7 million has been awarded to Pembroke-Hopkins Park for delivering broadband internet via Comcast to every door and business. This includes the $3 million set-aside awarded to the CDC by Congresswoman Robin Kelly in 2022. The project is expected to begin in 2025 and be completed within 2 years.
In 2022 Congresswoman Kelly funding omnibus supported 10 community projects including Pembroke Township Broadband efforts under the title of:
"Pembroke Township Integrated Infrastructure Pilot
Amount Requested: $3,000,000
Amount Received: $3,000,000
Intended Recipient: Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) on behalf of Community Development Corporation of Pembroke and Hopkins Park (CDC of PHP)
Explanation of Request: The project would extend scalable access to approximately 850 residences, businesses, and community anchor institutions throughout the entire 52-square-mile [correction 56 square miles] Pembroke Township footprint. Pembroke is a very rural, historically impoverished, and dramatically un/underserved community that lacks communications and energy infrastructure, including wireline broadband, cellular, and natural gas."
Award Amount Increased
Over $14 million including the $3 million set-aside by Robin Kelly awarded.
"Illinois broadband team has spent the last two months working with Comcast to expand their Connect Illinois project footprint to cover all of Pembroke and Hopkins Park in their project scope, with a financial contribution that shows their commitment to the project.
I am writing with good news: we have reached an agreement, and will be moving forward soon on a grant agreement.
Once everything is finalized, I will help facilitate a call with this group and the Comcast team, where they can share more about the project, timeline, and areas covered. The grant agreement has a two-year deadline, so the work will begin right away. We will also revise the project description posted online to ensure it accurately reflects the expanded project footprint." - Devon Braunstein, Director, Illinois Office of Broadband, Illinois Department of Commerce & Economic Opportunity
Broadband Provider - Comcast
Xfinity (Comcast) – $8,294,231 grants (2)
Location: Kankakee County
Two last mile broadband access projects extending fiber connectivity to approximately 1932 homes, businesses, and community anchor institutions in the communities of Hopkins Park and Pembroke Township. These projects leverage $3,000,000 in Congressionally Directed Spending administered through the United States Department of Agriculture ReConnect Program.
The locations involved in the Comcast 42 and Comcast 44 projects covers the Pembroke Township and Hopkins Park areas:
Pembroke Township has a total of 1,179 BSLs:
977 BSLs are included in the Comcast 42 project area.
202 BSLs are included in the Comcast 44 project area.
Hopkins Park has a total of 344 BSLs:
260 BSLs are included in the Comcast 42 project area.
84 BSLs are included in the Comcast 44 project area.
Below are some statistics based on how these locations are categorized in the FCC Fabric. While we are aware of certain inaccuracies in the fabric data, Comcast is committed to serving all locations within the project footprint. I have also attached a map showing all locations included in the Comcast 42 and Comcast 44 project scope.
Comcast 42
1–Residential 2–Land 3–Business 4–Unknown 5–Agriculture 6–Community 7–Industrial 8–Recreation 9–Utility 10–Mixed Use 11–Transportation 12–Water 13–Communications 14–ROW 15–Wireless 0–Other
In the context of CostQuest's "Fabric" data, "land use = land" signifies that a particular location within the dataset is considered to be primarily used for land-based activities, meaning it's not predominantly residential, commercial, or industrial; essentially, it's an open area of land without significant built structures that could be used for broadband internet service installation.
Comcast 44
1–Residential 2–Land 3–Business 4–Unknown 5–Agriculture 6–Community 7–Industrial 8–Recreation 9–Utility 10–Mixed Use 11–Transportation 12–Water 13–Communications 14–ROW 15–Wireless 0–Other
Comments