Whiteside County among Inaugural Accelerate Illinois Cohorts
Whiteside County is among six communities selected to participate in the inaugural cohort of the Accelerate Illinois Broadband Infrastructure Planning Program. Team members from the Illinois Fiber Resources Group, NFP (iFiber) are playing an integral role in initiating the program in Whiteside County.
Governor J.B. Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Office of Broadband announced the selected communities in a press release dated Feb. 24, 2022. The announcement was made in collaboration with Heartland Forward and the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society. The other five inaugural participants are the City of Springfield, Jackson County, Knox County, Mercer County, and the Village of Elsah.
iFiber team members serving on Whiteside County’s steering committee helping to implement the program are Marc Thorson, Executive Director, Regional Technology Services, NIU/iFiber, and Daniel Payette, Executive Director, Blackhawk Hills Regional Council, and a member of the iFiber Outreach Team. Read the full story.
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iFiber/JULIE 811 Board of Directors
Represented at CGA Conference & Expo
Jen Uridil-Dolman, Project Manager/IT Technical Associate for NIU/iFiber Broadband, will represent JULIE 811 Board of Directors and iFiber at the 2022 Common Ground Alliance Conference and Expo in Anaheim, CA, April 5-8, at the Anaheim Marriott.
The CGA Conference & Expo is a premier event for damage prevention industry stakeholders to network, share knowledge, and learn about the latest industry technologies and information.
iFiber is committed to underground infrastructure damage prevention through its partnership with JULIE 811. If you live anywhere in Illinois, you are required by law to have underground utility lines marked before you dig. Call 811…it’s easy and FREE.
*Remember, private utility lines
are not covered by calling JULIE!*
The CGA event will feature integrated committee meetings, industry-leading speakers, carefully curated breakout sessions and discussion groups, an interactive exhibit hall, and networking events and opportunities. Most importantly, this event will facilitate the development of concrete actions the industry can take to help reduce damages. The CGA is committed to saving lives and preventing damage to underground infrastructure by promoting effective damage prevention practices. For more details, visit www.cgaconference.com.
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Infrastructure Bill and ARP Funds for Broadband Development |
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Illinois announces $47 Million in Broadband Investments
Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO) Office of Broadband recently announced $47 million in funding for 22 projects in every region of the state through the second round of Connect Illinois, the state’s broadband expansion plan.
To promote broadband access, the Illinois Office of Broadband is making $350 million in funding available through a third round of grants, which will be accepted and awarded on a rolling basis through 2024, or until funds are depleted. Funding for Connect Illinois is made possible by Governor Pritzker’s bipartisan $45 billion Rebuild Illinois capital plan, the first comprehensive infrastructure program in Illinois in nearly a decade, as well as federal broadband funding available through the American Rescue Plan Act. Read the full story.
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iFiber Team Committed to Excellence with Open-Access Fiber Broadband |
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Board and administrative staff members directing the operations of iFiber and Fiber Ventures (iFiber's for-profit arm) recently met in person for the first time since the COVID pandemic began in early 2020. Operations and board meetings have been handled virtually, as iFiber has continued its commitment to excellence in serving new and existing customers with its open-access fiber broadband network throughout the Northwestern Illinois region. |
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It Truly is a Small World After All
During a recent iFiber Board/Staff planning retreat, two iFiber team members were surprised to learn they are distant relatives. Betsy Hull, iFiber's Financial Lead, explained that she and iFiber Board Chairman, Eric Haan, are "more like rural relatives."
She said, "Eric's dad was my aunt’s brother-in-law, and his aunt was my uncle’s sister-in-law." Haan added to help explain the connection: "Both sides of my dad’s family married both sides of her mom’s family."
Haan joined the iFiber Board in June 2019, and was named Chairman in 2021. He is Director of Technology for the Eastland CUSD #308, a position he has held for 13 years. Hull and Haan have worked together for several years as part of the iFiber administrative/board team. "It's pretty ironic that we wound up in the same circle through iFiber," they said.
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Spotlight on the iFiber Team
Illinois Fiber Resources Group proudly spotlights its team members regularly on its Facebook and LinkedIn pages. "Like and Follow" us, please! Keep watching social media and visit our website for more team profiles, iFiber news, and governing board member profiles: https://ifiber.org/leadership-board/
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RACHEL JURS-LAUDERDALE is an Administrative Assistant for Northern Illinois University's Division of Information Technology, member of NIU Administrative Professionals Advisory Council and Assistant Secretary for iFiber. She has been with NIU more than 7 years and provides expert and confidential administrative support to the Chief Information Officer, Chief Information Security Officer, Associate Vice Presidents, Directors, Managers, and staff within the Division of Technology Services (DoIT). She also works with iFiber and Ventures members and Board of Directors to coordinate strategic goals and map progress. Read Rachel's full profile.
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Call JULIE Before Digging! |
Remember to call 811 before you dig to avoid service disruptions and damage to buried utilities...any day from January through December! |
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E-Rate is a program of USAC that gives funding to schools and libraries through an open bidding process. USAC, or the Universal Services Administrative Company, is an entity designated by the Federal Communications Commission responsible for administering a roughly $10 billion fund that can be used to pay for Internet connections within impoverished regions, whether rural or urban. In Illinois, the Illinois Department of Central Management Services (CMS) has entered into state master contracts with vendors to support ICN customers for their E-rate category 2 purchases. The state has already conducted a competitive bidding process and selected vendors. Additional information is available on the iFiber website.
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Northern Illinois Monitoring Center (NIMC) is designed to provide wide-area support for iFiber customers.
For urgent issues, please call the NIMC number 1-877-753-8100 to reach a live agent. For non-urgent issues or questions, you are welcome to Email NIMC at nimc@niu.edu. If you have any questions or concerns, contact us at sales@ifiber.org.
Network Administrators: Register your organization's contacts at nimc@niu.edu. Sign up for e-mail alerts for advance notice about maintenance on the iFiber network or notification of a network down at www.nimc.niu.edu.
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Illinois Fiber
Resources Group
(Not-for-Profit)
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P.O. Box 755, Sycamore IL 60178
(815) 753-8113
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