Section 547.10  General Purpose

 

The deployment and adoption of high speed Internet services and information technology has resulted in enhanced economic development and public safety for the State's communities, improved health care and educational opportunities, and a better quality of life for the State's residents.  Continued progress in the deployment and adoption of high speed Internet services and information technology is vital to ensuring that Illinois remains competitive and continues to create business and job growth.  The purpose of the High Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Program is to encourage and support the partnership of the public and private sectors in the continued growth of high speed Internet and information technology for the State's residents and businesses.  [20 ILCS 661/5]

 

Section 547.20  Definitions

 

The following words and phrases, for the purposes of this Part, have the same meaning respectively ascribed to them in Section 10 of the High Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Act.

 

"Act" means the High Speed Internet Services and Technology Act [20 ILCS 661].

 

"Department" means the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity. [20 ILCS 661/10]

 

"Director" means the Director of the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

 

"Grant Agreement" means a written and signed contractual document between the Grantee and the Department that includes a description of the activities to be performed, budget, and all terms and conditions of the contract.

 

"High speed Internet services", "advanced telecommunications services", "advanced services", or "broadband" means services capable of supporting, in at least one direction, a speed in excess of 200 kilobits per second (kbps) to the network demarcation point at the subscriber's premises.  [220 ILCS 5/13-517]

 

"Local technology planning team" means entities 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. [20 ILCS 661/20]

 

"Nonprofit organization" means an organization that is described in section 501(c)(3) of the federal Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and exempt from tax under section 501(a) of that Code and is organized under, subject to, and has all the powers and duties of a not-for-profit corporation under the General Not For Profit Corporation Act of 1986 [805 ILCS 105].  [20 ILCS 661/10]

 

"Program" means the High Speed Internet Services and Information Technology Program.

 

Section 547.30  Legal Requirements

 

a)         Any entity awarded funds under the Program shall be required to execute a grant agreement that sets forth the rights and responsibilities of the Grantee and the Department.  The Grant Agreement shall reflect all applicable State and federal statutory and administrative requirements, including but not limited to provisions covering the expenditure of grant funds and utilization of property purchased with grant funds.

 

b)         The Grant Agreement shall contain substantive provisions including, but not limited to, the following:

 

1)         A recitation of legal authority under which the Grant Agreement is made;

 

2)         An identification of the scope of work and schedule, or services to be performed or conducted by the Grantee;

 

3)         An identification of the grant amount;

 

4)         The conditions by and manner in which the Department shall pay the grant amount subject at all times to annual appropriation by the General Assembly;

 

5)         A promise by the Grantee not to assign or transfer any of the rights, duties or obligations of the Grantee without the written consent of the Department;

 

6)         A promise by the Grantee not to amend the Grant Agreement without the written consent of the Department.  Failure to do so will result in a cost disallowance.  The project must be completed by the completion date on the notice of grant award unless a written request for an extension is submitted no later than 15 days prior to the award completion date;

 

7)         A covenant that the Grantee shall expend the grant amount and any accrued interest only for the purposes of the scope of work as stated in the Grant Agreement and approved by the Department; and

 

8)         A covenant that the Grantee shall refrain from entering into any written or oral agreement or understanding with any party that might be construed as an obligation of the State of Illinois or the Department for the payment of any funds under the Program.

 

Section 547.110  Purpose

 

Subject to appropriation, the Department shall make grants to a nonprofit organization to implement a comprehensive, statewide high speed Internet deployment strategy and demand creation initiative with the purpose of:

 

a)         ensuring that all State residents and businesses have access to affordable and reliable high speed Internet service;

 

b)         achieving improved technology literacy, increased computer ownership, and home high speed Internet use among State residents and businesses;

 

c)         establishing and empowering local technology planning teams in each county to plan for improved technology use across multiple community sectors; and

 

d)         establishing and sustaining an environment ripe for high speed Internet access and technology investment statewide.  [20 ILCS 661/15]

 

Section 547.120  Coordination with Economic Development Activities

 

The Department must coordinate the administration of the Program with the Department's technology related planning and economic development initiatives.

 

Section 547.130  Eligible Applicants

 

Non-profit organizations are eligible applicants for grants under the Program.  Eligible non-profit organizations are subject to the following conditions:

 

a)         The nonprofit organization shall have a board of directors that is not composed of a majority of individuals who are also employed by, or otherwise associated with, any federal, State, or local government or agency.  No part of the net earnings of the nonprofit organization may inure to the benefit of any member, founder, contributor, or individual.  [20 ILCS 661/10]

 

b)         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.  [20 ILCS 661/20]

 

c)         The nonprofit organization shall have an established competency and proven record of working with public and private sectors to accomplish wide-scale deployment and adoption of broadband and information technology in Illinois.  [20 ILCS 661/15]

 

d)         The nonprofit organization shall include the representation of constituencies throughout the State of Illinois.  [20 ILCS 661/10]

 

Section 547.140  Authorized Activities

 

In general, authorized activities shall include, but not be limited to, developing and implementing a high speed Internet deployment strategy and demand creation initiative.  The activities of the nonprofit organization shall include:

 

a)         Creating a geographic statewide inventory of high speed Internet service and other relevant broadband and information technology services.  The inventory shall:

 

1)         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; and

 

2)         Provide a baseline assessment of statewide high speed Internet deployment in terms of percentage of Illinois households with high speed Internet availability.

 

b)         Tracking and identifying, 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.

 

c)         Building and facilitating in each county or designated region a local technology planning team.  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.

 

d)         Collaborating 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.

 

e)         Collaborating 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.

 

f)         Applying and implementing federal grants consistent with the objectives of the Act.

 

g)         Obtaining or raising funds other than the grants received from the Department to implement the objectives consistent with the Act.  [20 ILCS 661/20]

 

Section 547.150  Allowable Costs

 

The grant funds shall be used for any reasonable and necessary expenses associated with the planning and implementation of the Program, as agreed to by the Department and as specified in a Grant Agreement between the Department and the grant recipient.  Such costs may include expenses for:

 

a)         Personal services;

 

b)         Fringe benefits;

 

c)         Travel;

 

d)         Facilities costs;

 

e)         Consultant services;

 

f)         Sub-contractual costs; and

 

g)         Other costs, as agreed upon by the Department and as specified in a Grant Agreement between the Department and the grant recipient.

 

Section 547.160  Proposal Content

 

Subject to appropriations, the Department shall issue instructions and formats to eligible applicants for the submittal of grant proposals.  The proposal shall contain sufficient information to clearly explain the nature and potential benefits of the proposed project.  The proposal will generally include the following sections:

 

a)         An executive summary;

 

b)         Assurances that the applicant is eligible to apply for a grant pursuant to the requirements of Section 547.130 of this Part;

 

c)         A description of the applicant, including:

 

1)         A description of the organization and the location of the applicant agency;

 

2)         A description of the organization's current financial information;

 

3)         A listing of the organization's Board of Directors;

 

4)         A description of the services typically provided; and

 

5)         A description of the applicant's participation in related programs and initiatives;

 

d)         A description of the activities proposed by the applicant to be undertaken during the period of performance of the grant;

 

e)         A description of the measurable outcomes and objectives to be achieved during the period of performance for the grant;

 

f)         A description of the qualifications and related experience of key project staff;

 

g)         A budget requesting grant funds for allowable costs and a justification for all costs requested; and

 

h)         A schedule for the implementation of proposed activities.

 

Section 547.170  Review Criteria and Negotiation Procedures

 

Grant proposals shall be reviewed on a competitive basis.  Based on the competitive review, applicants shall be selected to enter into negotiations with the Department for a grant.  The purpose of negotiations shall be to arrive at mutually acceptable grant provisions, which will be reflected in the Grant Agreement, including general, budgetary, and scope of work provisions.  The final decision to make a grant award will be made by the Director of the Department.  The Department shall use the following criteria when reviewing grant proposals and making awards:

 

a)         the experience of the nonprofit organization;

 

b)         the related experience and qualification of the project staff;

 

c)         the quality of the project work plan;

 

d)         the proposed project costs in relationship to planned outcomes;

 

e)         the relations of the project to the Department's economic development plans and initiatives; and

 

f)         the quality of presentations made to the Department, if the Department requests information. 

 

Section 547.180  Limitations

 

a)         Nothing in the Program shall be construed as giving the Department, the nonprofit organization, or other entities associated with the program initiatives any additional authority, regulatory or otherwise, over providers of telecommunications, broadband, and information technology.  [20 ILCS 661/25]

 

b)         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 the Program 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.  [20 ILCS 661/20]. 

 

Section 547.190  Reporting

 

a)         A nonprofit organization receiving grant funds under the Act shall provide a report to the Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability on an annual basis for the first three complete State fiscal years following the execution of the Grant Agreement.  [20 ILCS 661/20]

 

b)         Unless otherwise specified in the Grant Agreement between the Department and the recipient, an entity receiving a grant shall report financial and programmatic data to the Department on a regular basis using the format provided by the Department.  The Department shall require semiannual reporting of expenditures and program achievements at a level of detail sufficient to provide for program accountability. 

 

1)         Expenditures:  Unless otherwise specified in the Grant Agreement with the Department, an entity receiving a grant shall report actual expenditures using an expenditure report format supplied by the Department.  Expenditure summaries are to be submitted to the Department by the 15^th day following the end of the period in which any expenditure of grant funds is made (January 15 and July 15).

 

2)         Program Report:  Unless otherwise specified in the Grant Agreement with the Department, an entity receiving a grant shall submit a program report in a format provided by the Department.  The program report shall include a narrative describing the entity's progress towards achieving objectives and activities as specified in the Grant Agreement with the Department.  Program reports shall be submitted to the Department by the 15^th day following the reporting period (January 15 and July 15).