Editorial: Quantum is not AI, folks, and Chicago is not building a lakefront data center
An editorial clarifies that the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP) in Chicago is not a data center, addressing public confusion and opposition driven by fears of AI and data center development. The article highlights IQMP's economic benefits and commitment to environmental stewardship.
The Chicago Tribune published an editorial to clarify that the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP), under development on a 128-acre former U.S. Steel South Works site on Chicago’s South Side, is not a traditional data center. The publication aims to dispel public confusion, noting that the fear of "power-sucking, water-drinking data centers" and artificial intelligence is mistakenly being associated with the quantum computing facility.
IQMP CEO Harley Johnson explained that the federal government recognized the quantum research potential of Chicagoland institutions like the University of Illinois, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Fermilab, and Argonne National Laboratory, providing initial funding. Managed by a University Related Organization owned by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, IQMP is expected to create up to 10,000 jobs through private-sector tenants such as IBM, Pasqal, PSIQuantum (an anchor tenant planning the world’s first utility-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computer), and Quantum Machines.
Brad Henderson, CEO of P33, highlighted that the park will integrate university and private-sector buildings, creating "accessible white-collar work" for the economically disadvantaged area. Both Johnson and Henderson promised environmental stewardship and expanded public access to Lake Michigan. Despite these benefits, Mayor Brandon Johnson faced "NIMBY groups" expressing objections, though he reportedly did not fuel these "irrational fears."