Data centers are coming to Illinois. Northern Illinois communities like Elk Grove, Aurora and DeKalb are hot spots for some of the biggest data centers in the state. While some praise the incoming data centers, others are concerned that they're raising energy bills and depleting natural resources.
The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition is hosting dozens of town hall-style meetings about data centers across the state, including one in Galena on Wednesday, July 22. The coalition said it runs these meetings because they want to know how residents are feeling about data centers, and to share some of the impacts of these developments on local communities.
Scott Allen, an energy policy specialist with the Citizens Utility Board, said hundreds of people have shown up to some of these meetings. He presented at the Galena meeting, and he said he’s never seen communities express so much interest in an energy or utility issue quite like this.
“Overwhelmingly, everybody is on the same side with this issue,” he said. “That's really encouraging, to go to a community and see 120 people show up. People who have never organized around issues before are getting really involved in this and feel really strongly about it.”
Allen said smaller communities especially are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. The Coalition wants to offer support to people who feel like they can’t trust what the data center developers are telling them.
“Not saying that we're showing up with all the answers," Allen said, "but we're kind of showing up saying, ‘Here's our perspective on this, and if you need help organizing; if you need help finding answers; if you need access to resources; our coalition is more than glad to help you find those.”
These meetings are also part of an effort to spread awareness about the POWER Act, a bill that would regulate hyperscale data centers. It did not pass in the spring legislative session, but it could come back into discussion in the fall.
Another town hall will be held on Wednesday, July 29 at the Decatur Public Library. The coalition is hosting two more meetings in August: one in the Quad Cities and one in Mount Prospect. The coalition will continue to bring these town halls to communities across the state by request.
