By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is calling for new restrictions on data center construction, a shift from his earlier support for the industry, as state lawmakers prepare to return Nov. 17 for a veto session.
The shift follows years of state tax incentives meant to draw data centers to Illinois. It comes as Commonwealth Edison is seeking additional financial guarantees for a proposed data center project near Joliet.
Pritzker said in debate remarks aired Thursday that Illinois “should have no more data centers unless they bring their own clean energy, bring their own closed-loop water systems” and let local governments decide whether to allow them.
The governor’s comments contrast with an earlier statement cited Thursday. In a 2023 State of the State address, Pritzker said the “data center industry is booming in Illinois, creating more than 8,000 jobs.”
Jeannie Ives, a host of a Chicago-area radio program, said the state has awarded data center developers about $650 million in tax credits since related legislation passed in 2019. She and her cohost, Amy Jacobson, said Commonwealth Edison is seeking a $587 million line of credit tied to the Joliet-area project.
Annie Chestnut Tudor, a policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation’s Center for Technology and the Human Person, said a statewide ban on data center construction is not realistic. “It’s not realistic to issue statewide bans on data center construction,” Tudor said.
Tudor said a pledge by President Donald Trump to protect electricity ratepayers from data center-driven cost increases is “great, but … voluntary … it needs to be enforced.”
Asked whether data centers are driving up electricity bills, Tudor said “energy usage isn’t really my area of expertise.”
Jacobson said her town has 20 data centers, with five more under construction, and that local officials have said the facilities have not raised residents’ bills.
Illinois lawmakers return to Springfield for a veto session beginning Nov. 17, when data center legislation could come up for debate.
