Overview
- The City Council approved a new ordinance for future data centers, described by city leaders as the toughest rules in Illinois as a six-month pause on new projects ended.
- The law requires a pre-construction sound study and sets caps on noise, vibrations, electricity use, and water consumption.
- Developers must plan some renewable power on site and comply with biometric data privacy rules, and operators must file ongoing reports on water, energy, and noise.
- Generators and chillers must be at least 1,500 feet from homes, a step aimed at neighbors who report a constant hum, shaking, and drywall cracks near an existing facility.
- The rules cover only new builds, leaving four operating centers and five planned ones unchanged, as nearby Joliet recently cleared what officials call the state’s largest data center campus with major job and tax projections.