SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Illinois farmers faced with having to cultivate and harvest crops without the latest GPS-driven technological tools are among those around the state who are suffering due to the U.S. Department of Commerce withholding over $1 billion in broadband funding for the state, according to Gov. JB Pritzker. 

The governor has urged Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to promptly approve Illinois’ Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Final Proposal, which would deliver $1.04 billion in federal funding to expand broadband access to more than 383,000 Illinois residents, the vast majority of whom are living in rural communities or on farms.

“Patients are unable to access critical telemedicine services, students cannot complete homework online, farmers are left without the necessary tools to monitor crops, new businesses cannot leverage online platforms and job seekers lose out on opportunities to support their families,” Pritzker said in the letter dated May 12.

The $42.5 billion BEAD program was established by the Biden administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, passed by Congress in 2021. Connect Illinois, the state board appointed to allocate federal BEAD monies, planned to use Round 4 BEAD funding to inch closer to its goal of ubiquitous statewide broadband access for homes, businesses and communities throughout the state. Connect Illinois invests BEAD funding in broadband access to enhance rural citizens’ access to economic development, education, precision agriculture and telehealth.

To receive Round 4 funding, the administration required states to submit a five-year plan that identifies under-and-unserved communities while soliciting feedback from the public before filing for final approval. Midway through the funding process, however, the Commerce Department decided to review the program, which Lutnick claimed had “not connected a single person to the internet” due to “woke mandates,” favoritism and burdensome regulations.

“Under my leadership, the Commerce Department has launched a rigorous review of the BEAD program,” Lutnick said in a March 5, 2025, statement. “The department is ripping out the Biden administration’s pointless requirements. It is revamping the BEAD program to take a tech-neutral approach that is rigorously driven by outcomes, so states can provide internet access for the lowest cost. Additionally, the department is exploring ways to cut government red tape that slows down infrastructure construction.”

Though the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s (NTIA) policy is to complete reviews within 90 days of submission, Pritzker said Illinois has been waiting for approval since submitting its Round 4 BEAD proposal to the Commerce Department on Sept. 30, 2025. The Illinois governor warned that the funding delay is stalling critical infrastructure projects and creating uncertainty for contractors prepared to begin work on broadband projects across the state. He also emphasized that rural Illinois families, schools, libraries, hospitals, farmers, students and small businesses are the ones paying the price for the lengthy delay.

“Service providers are ready to get shovels in the ground on 232 construction projects to connect Illinois homes and businesses,” Pritzker wrote. “With each passing day progress is stalled, costs rise and the financial impact for providers continue to grow as they wait for these critical projects to move forward. All of this breaks your promise to get Americans connected faster and stands in the way of economic progress and prosperity for impacted families and business owners.”

The governor also stressed that each day without approval for the funding increases project costs and risks slowing economic growth in communities most in need of investment. He argued that withholding funding approval undermines President Trump’s stated goal of quickly connecting rural Americans with broadband while expanding economic opportunity nationwide.

Though the administration has not directly addressed Pritzker’s plea to Lutnick for an explanation (a status inquiry emailed to Pritzker’s office had not been acknowledged by press time), Trump issued an executive order in December 2025 directing the Commerce Department to explore withholding BEAD funding from states with artificial intelligence regulations that clash with administration policy. This directive directly targeted Illinois’ AI laws.

Looking back further, the Congressional Research Service (CRS), which was formed as a nonpartisan advisory staff to congressional committees and members of Congress, noted that the 119th Congress, when seated in January 2025, would be called on to “assess and address concerns that have been raised regarding the implementation of the BEAD Program.

In a Sept. 29, 2025, report published to Congress.gov, the CRS stated that “concerns include the pace at which NTIA has implemented the BEAD Program, whether certain programmatic requirements or subsequent changes made by NTIA have caused delays in program implementation, and whether NTIA has implemented the program fully consistent with congressional intent and the framework laid out in the IIJA.

“Another concern involves the requirement that BEAD-funded network deployment projects be ‘technology-neutral’ and who should determine the most suitable broadband connectivity technology for the project – NTIA, states or subgrantees (i.e., internet service providers, or ISPs). A further concern is whether program requirements such as those related to fair labor practices and climate resilience imposed by NTIA in its BEAD notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) are necessary.

“Congress may be interested in overseeing and addressing various aspects of BEAD Program implementation. Congress could consider a range of options, including taking no legislative actions but deferring to the current administration and focusing efforts on oversight through hearings and investigations.”

While the 119th Congress has apparently decided to select the CRS’ option of deferring the issue to the Trump administration, Illinois and California remain the only two states still awaiting approval for BEAD program funding as of Farm World press time.