The National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA) named the City of Chicago as a 2024 Digital Inclusion Visionary Trailblazer. This national program recognizes the city’s efforts to close the digital divide. Recognizing the array of interests and unique barriers of its community members, Chicago joins a record number of Digital Inclusion Trailblazers this year. NDIA awarded a total of 60 awardees representing municipal, county, and regional governments, paving the way for digitally inclusive communities across the US. Chicago was named a Visionary Trailblazer for deeply integrating digital inclusion across city governance and leading the way in digital inclusion innovation. Chicago is one of 34 communities across the US to be given this prestigious designation.  The City of Chicago achieved Visionary Trailblazer status by prioritizing digital inclusion for residents of their communities through: 

• Extending the Chicago Connected program for pre-K through 12 Chicago Public Schools students, providing no-cost broadband access to over 40,000 students this academic year. 

• Releasing the City of Chicago Neighborhood Broadband Request for Proposal, which will connect more households to reliable home internet while leveraging partnerships with experienced community-based organizations to deliver critical digital skills training for residents most impacted by the digital divide. 

• Staffing the Chicago Digital Equity Coalition, which provides meaningful, consistent, and robust engagement with lived experts and communities impacted by the digital divide. 

• Collaboration with local non-profit organizations to collect, wipe, refurbish, and distribute 2,000 laptops, desktops, and tablets to Chicagoans.