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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. — Gov. J.B. Pritzker reiterated his administration’s commitment to expanding opportunities in rural communities across the state during Illinois Agricultural Legislative Day March 3.
“This is a gathering of people representing the largest industry in the state of Illinois and I’m proud of that,” the governor said to representatives of nearly 50 agriculture-related groups.
“It’s a testimony to many of you in this room that Illinois continues to lead the nation in agriculture. We are the largest producer of pumpkins in the United States, but we’re also the largest producer of soybeans, the second largest producer of corn, we lead the nation in the production of horseradish, we’re the fourth largest pork-producing state and we created a new industry when we licensed more than 21,000 acres for industrial hemp production last year.”
Connect Illinois
Pritzker noted a new rural broadband expansion program that will help farmers build on the state’s success.
“I want Illinois to lead in the 21st century. This is going to affect all of your communities and businesses. I think it’s a huge advancement and I hope you’ll join me in making Connect Illinois the most successful program that we’ve ever had in our rural communities,” Pritzker said.
Through bipartisan support, the General Assembly approved the Rebuild Illinois initiative, the state’s largest infrastructure investment in a generation, and Connect Illinois is part of that initiative.
“Connect Illinois is the largest matching grant program for high-speed internet development in national history, a program whose impact will be doubled with matching funds from the federal government, from local governments and from private partners,” Pritzker said.
“We’ve already begun to deliver on an ambitious four-year plan to deliver open access, shared use broadband to homes, businesses and community institutions like hospitals and libraries in every corner of our state. In an increasingly competitive global economy, we simply cannot afford to leave any community without connectivity.”
Flood Protection
Pritzker recently delivered Illinois’ concerns regarding long-term flood protection and federal aid to President Donald Trump and U.S. Agriculture Director Sonny Perdue.
“A few weeks ago I met with the president and got his commitment directly to provide greater support for Illinois from the Corps of Engineers to address long-term flood protection. We’re working very hard in the near-term to address and fight flooding such as it may be this spring. Rebuilding our levies and protecting our basic infrastructure is a top priority.
“Nobody in this room is a stranger to the difficulties that we experienced over the last year here in our state. Homes and businesses, farmland and crop production were severely impacted by some of the worse flooding in a quarter century.
“Mother Nature was not kind to us, but I want to assure you that my administration was on full alert as we addressed needs in nearly one-third of Illinois’ counties last year with the support of our National Guard, our Emergency Management Agency, our State Police, the Department of Transportation and the Department of Agriculture. We’re continuing to do everything in our power again this year to protect our communities and to help rebuild.
“I’m particularly proud that the U.S. Department of Agriculture granted my special request for an agriculture disaster declaration to help farms recover and for federal disaster aid to help families get back on their feet.
“I spoke directly with U.S. Agriculture Director Sonny Perdue to emphasize the need for ongoing support and he has promised to be of assistance going forward.”