Champaign County seeking legal counsel to regulate data centers following failure of Illinois POWER Act
Champaign County officials are developing their own data center regulations after the Illinois POWER Act failed to pass. A task force is drafting an ordinance to address concerns about water consumption, noise pollution, and energy strain, while operating under a 12-month moratorium until April 2027. The county is seeking legal counsel to clarify its enforcement authority as a non-home rule municipality.
Champaign County officials are moving forward with drafting local regulations for data centers after the Illinois General Assembly failed to pass the statewide Illinois POWER Act on June 1. The proposed state law would have mandated data centers pay the full cost of their energy usage and enforced certain water and safety standards, but its failure leaves counties with limited power to enact similar protections.
Emily Rodriguez, vice chair of the County Board and chair of the Data Center Activities Task Force, stated that the state constitution restricts non-home rule counties like Champaign from enforcing many desired regulations. The task force, which has been meeting since earlier this year following an unnamed developer's interest in a 300-acre site in the City of Champaign, is now drafting an ordinance to govern future data centers in the county. This ordinance will apply after the current 12-month moratorium on data center development expires in April 2027.
Key discussions during the task force's June 22 meeting focused on energy regulations, including potential renewable energy mandates for data centers and the impact on the power grid. They also addressed a ban on nuclear power in the draft ordinance. Previously, on June 1, water usage was a primary concern, with the task force considering requirements for closed-loop cooling systems to protect the Mahomet Aquifer from continuous water extraction. The task force is using Aurora, Illinois's strict data center ordinance as a framework but is limited by Champaign County's non-home rule status, which restricts its fining authority and overall regulatory power. The task force plans to consult with the State's Attorney's Office to clarify the county's legal authority to regulate data centers, acknowledging that an outright ban is not legally feasible.