With $400 million available for broadband deployment grants targeting areas of greatest need, Connect Illinois is an equity-driven infrastructure program. Challenges tied to population sparsity, geography, or low take rate continue to stand as barriers to broadband ubiquity. In particular, Connect Illinois will seek to address disparities in broadband access and adoption in rural regions and black and brown communities across the state. Connect Illinois funding will address this market failure and recalibrate the business case for new deployments, connecting communities and individual consumers with scalable service throughout the state. The state will add over $250 million from the Treasury Capital Projects Fund to the program.