Illinois data center fight escalates as state regulation fails and communities push back
Data center opposition is intensifying across Illinois as state lawmakers failed to pass comprehensive regulation, prompting Governor JB Pritzker to call for a pause on state incentive processing. Local communities are engaging in lawsuits and zoning battles, while new state legislation is being proposed to grant municipalities more control and potentially enact a development moratorium.
The fight over data center development is escalating across Illinois, fueled by the failure of the state legislature to pass the 'POWER Act,' which aimed to impose transparency and utility consumption limits on the rapidly expanding industry. In response to the legislative gridlock and growing local pushback, Governor JB Pritzker has called for a pause on processing agreements for the Data Center Investment Program, effective July 1. Pritzker emphasized the need for comprehensive legislation addressing energy and water usage accountability, pollution protections, and a review of state tax incentives.
Simultaneously, state legislators and local leaders are introducing new measures. State Senator Darby Hills (R-Barrington Hills) has filed Senate Bill 1050, which seeks to empower counties and municipalities with greater control over data center regulation, including standards for size, design, geographic concentration, a three-mile buffer from residential areas, and local authority over water usage, conservation, contamination, and noise. Hills also requested a one-year moratorium on data center development statewide. Lockport City Administrator Ben Benson and Will County Board member Steve Balich voiced support for increased local control but stressed that statewide guidelines are crucial.
Local communities like Bourbonnais are proactively addressing potential data center proposals, with residents packing city council meetings to voice opposition. Bourbonnais officials are evaluating special use permits to gain more control over such developments. Meanwhile, State Representative Jed Davis (R-Yorkville) has proposed House Bill 5755, which would require data center proposals to be put to local referendums, citing strong community opposition in areas like Yorkville.
In Joliet, residents have already filed a lawsuit challenging the rezoning of a property to halt an approved large data center. Both Senator Hills' bill and the previously failed POWER Act are expected to be revisited during the fall veto session, highlighting the ongoing and multifaceted struggle to regulate data center expansion in Illinois.