Joliet City Council meeting underway to discuss plans for Illinois' largest data center
Hundreds of people came to Joliet City Hall on Monday night to voice their concerns about the state's largest data center potentially being housed there.
Those data centers would hold servers and storage for artificial intelligence.
Monday's meeting started at 5:30 p.m., with nearly 70 people signed up to talk during the public comment. There were multiple packed overflow areas for people to watch the meeting in another room. Some said they are ready for the change, while others want the new center to stay far away.
"We need these jobs, and we need you guys and girls to vote yes for Elwood Powerhouse," one resident said.
Resident after resident stepped up to the podium on Monday night to speak directly to city council members. While some were for the new 800-acre data center by developer HW Technology Park Development LLC, most were against the plan.
"This is not a project we need. We do not need a data center at this time, and we do not need a data center in Joliet. We do need jobs in Joliet, but not this," another resident said.
The proposed site would go in a rural field right next to the Chicagoland Speedway at the intersection of Rowell and Bernhard roads. That's where 24 buildings housing the equipment would be built.
At the meeting, ComEd said the energy needed to keep the center operating would not raise electric bills for residents or businesses. The developer says no water would be needed to cool the facility, only to get it up and running. They also said it could bring Joliet $2 billion in tax revenue.
"I just want to make sure that when we make decisions that are huge like this, that we have all the information," said Sean Richards.
Richards lives in neighboring Lockport and believes the new data center would have broader impacts and health risks for kids.
"The people in here that are voting yes or no, I did not elect them, but yet they are making decisions that will directly affect people in Lockport, and New Lenox, and in Elwood and other municipalities," he said.
At last check, public comments were still underway.
If passed, the developers say it would be up and running in 2030.
The developer also said that if they vote no, they will take the project somewhere else.
