Bloomington residents speak out against data centers at public forum

Bloomington city officials, including Mayor Dan Brady and City Manager Jeff Jurgens, recently held public forums to discuss the potential development of a hyperscale data center, often referred to as an "AI farm." The sessions, attended by 70 people, were met with significant public pushback against the proposal, though officials emphasized the forums were primarily for gathering feedback to inform future city policy. Currently, Bloomington hosts two smaller data centers, but the proposed facility would be much larger in scale. Residents raised numerous concerns, with water consumption being the chief worry, especially given Bloomington's recent drought conditions and aging water infrastructure. Other issues included the potential loss of valuable farmland, environmental impacts such as noise and heat generation, and a perceived lack of transparency from the city regarding interested developers. Speakers like Dale Nafziger and Matt Hickman articulated strong opposition, highlighting the industrial nature of data centers and their intensive resource demands. Conversely, Bill Clark, a retired IT professional, was the sole speaker at the 2 p.m. session who supported the project, emphasizing the inevitability of AI technology and the potential economic benefits for the city. He also referenced pending state legislation, the POWER Act, which would require data centers to cover their own energy infrastructure costs in Illinois. Amidst the debate, some residents urged the city to enact a moratorium on data center development, citing a recent example in nearby Champaign County. The forums are intended to help the Bloomington City Council formulate a comprehensive policy on data centers, with officials pledging transparency despite not disclosing specific interested entities. Separately, McLean County had previously approved zoning changes in March to limit future data centers to land zoned exclusively for manufacturing.