Chicago's Digital Divide

By Charles Williams

Affordable Internet Access: What Next?

I spoke with Oakdale Covenant's Carol Friar in September, 2006 about affordable Internet access. "Particularly in this community," Friar said, "affordable Internet access is a big problem."

Oakdale Covenant runs some very popular computer education classes but the cost of Internet access is an issue with the students. Cable and satellite can each run $45 a month and dial-up is like making a phone call. A very expensive phone call.

Oakdale Covenant's computer students want and need computer expertise. But after buying a computer, the cost of Internet access becomes an enormous problem. "For our parishioners," Friar said, "it's food on the table or Internet access."


Closing the Digital Divide

In an effort to develop a plan to help the City of Chicago close the digital divide, the first of four public hearings on affordable Internet access was held at Woodson Regional Library on September 13, 2006.

A little background. Last May 30, 2006, Mayor Richard M. Daley announced his plan to start closing the digital divide by bringing Internet access to Chicagoans at a more affordable rate.

Julia Stausch, moderator at the evening's hearing, told the Sept. 13 audience at Woodson Regional Library this begins the process of soliciting private sector proposals to provide free Internet access in select locations throughout the city, just as the library system now has free wi-fi access in all its branches. Stausch said fundamental access to the Internet, some training and even getting computers into the hands of the most needful would all be part of the program.

A wi-fi connected City of Chicago? Alderman Margaret Laurino, who worked to develop the initial plan, said wi-fi will be available in every neighborhood in the city by 2009. That seems a bit optimistic to me.

People who wished to speak filled out little cards beforehand and I was called first. I reported Carol Friar's issue (at the top of this page).

Pastor David Neff of Morgan Park Presbyterian Church (Longwood, 111th) also prepared a few words which I conveyed to the council: "I am writing, not about myself, but about the low-income people that our church serves. Internet affordability is one problem. Before we can address that, we have to address the problem of getting low-income people adequate and up-to-date computers. Then they must be trained or schooled in basic skills. When we talk about the internet, many poor and low-income people need a lot of personal assistance just to get on line. I believe that resources need to be appropriated for 'house doctors', computer trained people who can go into a poor person's home, help them set up a basic computer and get started with internet service. The other alternative is, unfortunately, to leave the responsibility to them to initiate getting the computer, installing the computer, investigating internet software packages, purchasing internet software packages and getting on-line. . . . How can the city help poor people who have very little experience with just getting started? That's where I would like to see the discussion begin . . ."

And I noted my experiences, through my volunteer work, with people who wanted Internet access and probably held the means in their hands to acquire it and yet, unfortunately, simply did not know how to put the pieces together to make it all work. And couldn't afford to hire someone to do it for them.

photo by c.williams Aldora Lomax (pictured, right) of Chicago's Washington Heights is a single mother raising a 16-year-old high school student. She lacks Internet access because connecting a computer to the Internet is complicated and expensive. "I could do a lot of things," Lomax told me. "I could learn a lot. My son is in high school and he needs it for his classes. I need it to look up diseases and medical codes." The Computer Technology Center at Morgan Park Presbyterian Church is working with Lomax to help her across the digital divide.

Since arriving in Chicago in 2005 I've talked to a number of people in Morgan Park, Washington Heights and other communities who have a computer but can't get it connected to the Internet. Several speakers before the council conveyed much the same experience. Some of us talking, afterwards, felt that the kids have no problem picking it up but, as Pierre Clark noted, it's the adults without these computer skills who do the voting.

My thoughts: Acquiring Internet access for all levels of society and improving computer skills in the depressed sections of Chicago will be long term efforts requiring devoted service and there's just no quick fix in sight.

Mayor Daley's Advisory Council on Closing the Digital Divide committee members present at Woodson Library on Sept. 13 were Norma Reyes, Carols Ponce, Constance Howard, Margaret Laurine, Mary Dempsey, George Burciago, Hardik Bhatt, Sharnett Jackson and Julia Stausch.

Mary Dempsey, of the Chicago Public Library System, talked to a small group of us after the public hearing about public wi-fi, currently available via the entire library system, and computer use in general. Dempsey said, and others voiced a similar message before and after the hearing, that the library system simply can't provide enough computer time no matter how hard they try. Their newest approach, Dempsey told us, will be to offer wi-fi laptops on a "check out" basis, in the same manner we now check out a book, video or CD.

Twenty-six million separate computer sessions were provided at library computers in 2005, Dempsey said.

The council continues to accept oral and written testimony on Sept. 14 at 4455 N. Lincoln Ave., Sept. 20 at 400 S. State, and Sept. 21 at 4856 W. Chicago Ave.; all libraries. More comments can be delivered by email to publicwifi@cityofchicago.org or traditional mail by writing the Mayor at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle, Room 507, Chicago, IL 60602.

Read more: Wi-Fi: Frequently Asked Questions


Promises are cheap

Some exciting proposals were made for Chicago residents' access to the Internet but promises are cheap.

What can we do today to improve computer skills and Internet access across Chicago? When people don't have equal access to information, free markets don't promote optimal efficiency (Joseph Stiglitz, "Policies Behind Poverty").

AFFORDABLE INTERNET ACCESS. One real-world solution, ready today, comes to our communities from the public library system. This idea only encompasses people with the means to purchase a laptop so its scope is very limited.

  1. The laptop is equipped with a wireless card which meets the library's requirements. If necessary, local computer shops will install or tune the wireless card to meet the library's specifications.
  2. The resident brings their laptop to the library for free Internet access.
  3. For advanced skills, the resident downloads free Open Source software.
  4. Once back home, and with no Internet access, the resident still develops their computer skills with spreadsheets, databases and word processors -- things easily available. Or practices their advanced skills (above).

Again, this helps a few people but not enough. Never enough, it seems. Still, free Internet access, on a limited basis, is a start.