Data Center

The Bloomington city manager said a long public forum on data centers this week was just the early part of the discussion about data center policy.

Gov. JB Pritzker said he doesn't want to see McLean County farmland given up for data centers. He said the state should be pumping the brakes on the industry rather than rolling out the red carpet for it.

A panel on both sides of the data center debate answered questions for three hours Wednesday night as at least a couple hundred people listened intently.

"I want everyone to sit down, have coffee, have cookies and educate one another,” said John Danenberger.

If Bloomington-Normal government leaders decide they want to bring a data center to the community, they would need to demonstrate that the community has the energy capacity to sustain it. That remains an open question.

The forum is scheduled for 5-8 p.m. on Aug. 26 at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. Questions will be submitted electronically before the event.

The emergence of a new class of data centers has garnered bipartisan opposition in communities across the state. What was once seen as an avenue for economic growth has become a political issue in Illinois.

Democratic Gov. JB Pritzker and Republican challenger Darren Bailey both appeared at the Illinois Agricultural Legislative Roundtable forum at Funk Farms Trust in Shirley.

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association and the Ecology Action Center based in Normal have planned an energy presentation next month to address public concerns about data centers and other factors that may impact the electric grid.

'Money, Money, Money' is what data centers promise to prospective communities willing to host them. In hubs Aurora and DeKalb, WGLT visited the sites to understand what their property tax revenue can offer and what projects are possible.