Will County Gazette

State Rep. Margo McDermed (R-Mokena) emphasized the importance of 21st Century jobs and the digital divide during a recent House Economic Justice & Equity Committee meeting. 

“We need to worry about the economy of the 21st Century and not necessarily the economy of our parents’ generation,” McDermed said. “Even if you are working online at Amazon, you are working with a screen.”

Digital jobs are the fastest-growing type of employment in all industries, which is why lawmakers need to get serious about preparing the next generation for employment, McDermed said. She also stressed the importance of closing the digital divide, the gap between those with ready access to the internet and those without in the state.

Rep. Litesa Wallace (D-Rockford)

“When our chairman teed up this issue, a couple of things occurred to me with the digital divide in respect to women — whether they are white or black or brown...,” McDermed said. “We desperately need to grow ourselves out of the kind of economic funk that Illinois is in right now.”

Rep. Litesa Wallace (D-Rockford) began the hour-long meeting with a background in Educational Psychology and the digital divide, which people have been discussing for more than a decade, she said. 

“Over time, that divide hasn’t shrunk,” Wallace said.

More than 62 percent of households that make less than $30,000 annually use the internet and the gaps between high-speed internet access have a racial and ethnic divide, with only 49 percent of African Americans and 51 percent of Hispanics having access to high-speed internet in their homes. That is compared to 66 percent of white Americans, Wallace said.