Illinois wants company to return $2 million Internet grant

The state government is trying to get $2 million in grant money back from a company that was supposed to be installing high-speed Internet service on Chicago's South Side.

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity says the company, Cincinnati-based Gigabit Squared, has failed to provide the state with information it needs to track how the money was spent.

David Roeder is a spokesman for the agency. He tells the Chicago Sun-Times that the company might have only used $250,000 of the grant for legitimate purposes.

He called it an “abuse of the public's trust.”

The company said in a statement it has new leadership that's been holding a “proactive, open and honest dialogue with the state of Illinois to move towards a positive resolution of the project.”