On May 29 and May 31, 2015, the Illinois House and Senate approved a two-year extension of the Illinois Cable and Video Competition Act of 2007 (the “Cable Act”). That’s the legislation that ensures funding of CAN TV from the three state franchised companies serving Chicago: AT&T, Comcast and WOW. The governor is expected to sign the bill into law this summer.
There was little discussion and only minor amendments to the Cable Act during the legislative session due to the big budget issues looming in Springfield. The 2017 sunset is an opportunity to get the Cable Act up-to-date with much needed technological changes that benefit the public’s channels.