While others bemoaned what the Great Recession might do to halt all progress on the broadband front, two Illinois-bred politicians—Gov. Pat Quinn and President Barack Obama—were already working to turn the Land of Lincoln into a land that’s digitally linked in. The fruits of their combined efforts, as witnessed by close to 100 state leaders from the public and private sector, were in evidence Monday at Northern Illinois University’s Naperville campus, as Broadbandillinois.org hosted presentations by four awardees at its regional meeting.