Chicago Mayor Seeks Data Center Regulation
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order aiming to implement a moratorium and establish new regulatory guidelines for data centers in the city. This action addresses concerns about environmental impact, water usage, and energy costs. The move has drawn criticism from some city officials who view it as a political maneuver.
Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order at Northerly Island, aiming to implement a moratorium and establish new regulatory guidelines for data center development within Chicago city limits. The order addresses growing concerns from residents and officials regarding the environmental impact, water consumption, and potential increases in energy costs associated with data centers. Mayor Johnson stated that Chicagoans are seeking strong protections for their communities, utility bills, and quality of life against unchecked data center expansion.
The action comes as Chicago, identified as the seventh-largest market for data centers in the U.S. by a 2026 Avison Young report, has previously attracted developers with pro-business policies, including a 2024 ordinance that incentivized data center construction. However, Alderman Gilbert Villegas (36th Ward), who chairs the Zoning Committee, criticized the mayor's executive order as "just another political stunt," arguing that golf courses consume significantly more water than data centers and that energy cost concerns could have been resolved through negotiations with Commonwealth Edison years ago.