Bloomington Mayor Dan Brady said when it comes to the ongoing discussion of data centers, he’s looking ahead to the city’s next public hearing on the subject in late August.
Bloomington is planning to take several months to develop regulations and plans for hyperscale data centers that use 5 or more megawatts of energy.
The city council passed a six-month moratorium on taking any data center action in late May.
The city recently announced its planning commission will meet publicly at 5 p.m. Aug. 26 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. There will be a panel of experts and others who have experience with data centers.
Exactly who will be on the panel has not yet been announced. Brady would like to invite members of a former statewide data center task force, which includes mayors of municipalities that have moved forward with building those projects.
“Hopefully someone from that task force that traveled the state and had the hearings that were all part of trying to get information for the state legislature [will participate],” he said in an interview for WGLT's Sound Ideas.
After that, the city will start drafting up regulations. The public will be able to comment on those drafts at meetings on Oct. 1 and Nov. 5.
So far, the city has not made any formal trips to tour data center facilities. Town of Normal staff recently traveled to Aurora to tour the outside of a data center.
Brady said some council members and city staff have visited other centers on their own.
Brady said he has spoken with Aurora’s Mayor John Laesch and DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes. Aurora hosts a 450,000-square-foot, 109-megawatt CyrusOne data center. DeKalb hosts a Meta data center and previously approved another data center from Endeavor Energy in Dec. 2025.
Brady said he has discussed revenue and job opportunities with the mayors, but could not share any specific numbers because those things could vary from project to project.
The number of jobs that could come from a data center project is a “moving target,” Brady said. Construction could generate hundreds of jobs, but it isn’t clear how many of those jobs would last once the center starts operating.
“You get a wide variety across the spectrum of how many jobs truly would be for a data center,” Brady said, “and how long those jobs would be there.”
The DeKalb data center has generated tens of millions of dollars in property tax revenue for that city, according to public tax filings. Brady said the potential revenue from a data center does factor into the city’s discussions.
Outright ban 'a moving target'
A vocal portion of public sentiment has been adamantly against data centers. At last Monday’s city council meeting, City Manager Jeff Jurgens said staff have received questions about whether an outright ban is possible.
Jurgens and Brady said the city’s legal team is looking into that, but there is a lack of state guidance.
“Outright banning is an unknown variable at this point,” Brady said. “I don’t know how clear [the legal department] can ever get it without legislation from the state legislature.”
Illinois lawmakers ended their spring session without taking action on the POWER Act, a proposal that would create strict guidelines for data centers and require frequent monitoring of energy and water usage. Data centers could be responsible for paying for their energy and water, under the proposal.
The bill does not appear to include language regarding a community enacting its own ban of data centers. Sponsors of the bill said they hope to bring it back in November for what is known as veto session.
Brady said the Illinois Municipal League will be meeting within a few weeks to discuss what the status is on data center legislation.
Brady said he would appreciate clarification and guidelines on what communities can do, but was not so keen on statewide regulations.
“From what I had seen, the approach of trying one-size-fits-all is very difficult. Statewide is one thing, but especially on a topic like this, I think it’s best left to the locals,” he said.
Back in Bloomington, Brady said he is hearing from interested and neutral parties, mostly in the business community.
“Companies that have ties to data centers and have an interest or are data center companies,” Brady said. “I think as more discussion goes on and people believe whatever they believe, it limits the geographical areas in which these companies have to work with.”
He also thinks there may be shifting sentiment, or a growing pocket of support. Brady said he spotted yard signs in support of data centers on the east side of Bloomington. Signs opposing data centers have been popping up across McLean County in recent months.
“I’ve seen a couple,” he said. “It caught my eye because I’ve seen the others. Like any issue, there’s going to be those that are very vocal on one side or the other.”
He has not spoken with Aurora or DeKalb’s mayors about their experience with the public during data center development, but said the conversation is due.
Ultimately, he said the city’s decision must balance the possible job and revenue benefits with the energy costs and the community opinion.
