Montgomery County, Illinois

About Montgomery County

Two hundred years after its founding, Montgomery County, located in central Illinois, about an hour from St. Louis, remains a rural landscape. But with eight communities boasting fiber-to-the-home broadband connectivity and three more on the way, it’s also prioritized keeping up with the demands of 21st-century life as it transitions away from the coal industry that supported its foundation and into the digital age.

Montgomery County, anchored by the cities of Hillsboro and Litchfield, each home to a little more than 6,000 of the county’s roughly 30,000 residents, is less than an hour from the University of Illinois Springfield, a significant source local tech talent.

Community partners

• The University of Illinois Extension-Montgomery County Office provides practical translations of cutting-edge research to help people, businesses, and communities find answers to some of the most pressing issues of the modern world.
• The Montgomery County Economic Development Corporation (MCEDC) is the county’s leading economic development authority, with current projects promoting local tourism, grant assistance, entrepreneurship support programming, business retention efforts, and small business seminars.
• The Coop, located in Hillsboro, is Montgomery County’s first coworking and business incubation space, featuring fiber internet service and 24-hour access for members, as well as day passes for visitors from 9-to-5.
• Montgomery CEO is the area’s high school entrepreneurship program, featuring a mentor network of local business leaders, real-life experience-building for students, and an inspiration for young people to live, work, raise families, and start businesses in their community.