After months of public hearings and debate, the Sangamon County Board Monday held off on a decision regarding a conditional use zoning permit that would pave the way for a controversial data center.
The board voted 15-13 to table the request at a meeting held at the BOS Center in Springfield to accommodate a large crowd of residents.
The $500 million project is planned for Talkington Township, southwest of Springfield near Waverly. It would be the first major data center in central Illinois.
The board members listened to several speakers over nearly four hours. Many urged a delay to further explore the proposal and to wait for potential new rules that could be enacted at the state level.
“There are still unanswered questions,” said Thomas Davis, who was among those asking for a moratorium.“ Tonight is simply a self- imposed deadline.”
Concerns ranged from pollution and taking farmland out of production to drain on resources, such as electricity, with the potential to increase rates for everyone. While some have also warned of heavy water usage, CyrusOne officials said a closed-loop cooling system will limit how much water is needed.
Data centers house large, networked servers and systems that store and process massive amounts of data. They are viewed as the backbone of the internet, supporting cloud services, AI, websites, and digital communication. Experts say more data centers are needed to meet the growing demand for immense processing power and storage.
Labor groups are on board with the plan for the construction jobs being promised. "Data centers are going to happen. They are the wave of the future," said Aaron Gurnsey, President of the Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council.
About 100 permanent jobs have been promised once the center is up and running.
Economic development leaders also tout the property tax revenue, which will benefit several local governmental bodies. CyrusOne, the Dallas-based developer, has not asked for property tax abatements.
The North Mac School District woud receive a big chunk of additional tax money. Other targeted amounts will go toward Auburn and Ball-Chatham schools, according to officials. Bradd Hout with CyrusOne also said money would be given for dredging of Waverly Lake to help with water needs.
Not everyone buys the promise of tax revenue. Resident Jim Applegate told the board the companies often use depreciation. “These are massive, for-profit companies and avoiding taxes is a great way to increase profits,” he warned.
The local project would sit in a rural area, on approximately 280 acres of current farmland adjacent to the Double Black Diamond Solar Farm, with six large buildings. It would be be built in phases and take between 4-6 years to fully complete.
Hout said the company operates 55 locations around the globe. It also owns several data centers in the Chicago region.
One of those sites is in Aurora. A State Journal-Register report pointed out neighbors’ complaints over noise from that center. But he said the problem is being addressed.
“We were made aware of the issue back in April of last year,” said Hout, who added a remediation project is underway. “That project has been ongoing and will be completed in September.”
He said a key difference is the Aurora center is near dozens of homes, while the Sangamon County site has no residences within a half mile.
It's unclear when a vote might happen. The board meets again next month.
Sangamon County is not alone at taking its time on the project. The Logan County Board recently passed a 60-day moratorium on data center applications as a project near Latham remains pending.
Pekin this month turned down a proposed data center project. The mayor said it wasn’t the right project for her city at this time.
