As the dust settles on the spring session of the Illinois General Assembly, the lack of action on the threats posed by the multitude of power hungry data centers is certainly frustrating. However, progress may be sooner than it seems, including final action before this legislature wraps up in January.
With our partners in the Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition, we put forth the most comprehensive suite of safeguards to protect our climate, our water supply, and our communities from data centers and their ravenous demand for our energy and water. The POWER Act would have new data centers bring their own clean energy supply, require best practices for water efficiency, and provide transparency to communities as local governments are making decisions about siting and permitting these facilities.
We’ve made a strong case for the POWER Act. Polling shows that 70% of Illinoisans support the proposal. 42 State Representatives and 16 State Senators have joined as co-sponsors. Sierra Club volunteers had nearly 50 in-district meetings with lawmakers this Spring to advocate for the bill and other priorities, and helped with 12 town hall meetings with legislators in their communities.
Despite this groundswell of support, and local governments across the state faced with massive proposals with no state guardrails to guide them, ultimately no action was taken on the POWER Act and serious negotiations have not yet been convened. That may soon change as Governor JB Pritzker has taken executive action to pause existing tax incentives for data centers for two years, and laid out strong principles to protect ratepayers, public health, and water supplies.
“I am directing my administration to pause the processing of data center agreements while we continue working with the General Assembly and stakeholders on a comprehensive framework that protects affordability, safeguards our natural resources, and ensures responsible growth across Illinois. I look forward to continuing these conversations and getting this done the right way for Illinois working families and communities” said Governor Pritzker..
While the lack of legislative action thus far is frustrating, we’ve also been here before. We know that big, bold clean energy packages take time to finalize in Illinois. The landmark laws that created Illinois’ clean energy economy, the Future Energy Jobs Act (2026), Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (2021) and Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act (2025) each followed a similar path – a bold proposal put forth by a broad, community-driven coalition, strong grassroots power building that leads to difficult negotiations and culminates in the passage of sound policies that drive job creation, equity, and bold action on climate.
We’re entering the middle phase of this cycle now, as Governor Pritzker’s action to pause incentives and strong principles set the table for the serious negotiations that are necessary to put a comprehensive package to a vote by the end of the year. We’ve done the work to put out a bold vision of safeguards and build support for it, but we’re just getting started, and are only ramping up the power to ensure Illinois protects its ratepayers, water supply, communities, and climate goals. Illinois communities, and indeed the nation, need Illinois’ leadership once again, and we are ready to meet the moment.
Leave a Reply