What's New in Digital Equity: Chicago Launches Digital Equity Council

Source: GovTech by Julia Edinger, Zack Quaintance

Chicago has announced a new digital equity council. Dubbed the Chicago Digital Equity Council, it was born out of the Chicago Connected program, which was expanded in 2021. The new council will build on the digital inclusion efforts in the public school space accomplished through that program.

This announcement comes as experts see a national trend of cities increasing their focus on achieving digital equity, as the COVID-19 pandemic has put a greater responsibility on local government to engage in the effort.

For Chicago, about one-fifth of households are without Internet, and over 12 percent are without computers. On average, the communities with the lowest rates of connectivity are over 90 percent Black. The city is leveraging funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to address this divide.

The Digital Equity Council will engage the community to address the digital divide through digital, written and in-person channels, offering events in English and Spanish to enable participation for people from diverse backgrounds. The council will be led by community leaders, community-based organizations, government entities and digital equity experts. This cross-sector group is known as the council’s guiding team, bringing representation to include diverse voices in the effort.