Several members of the Kane County Jobs Committee asked staff on Sept. 12 to gather information about data centers operating in Illinois and in the county, focusing on their energy and water use and the net fiscal and environmental impacts.
Committee member Penny (last name not specified in transcript) asked for a county-level study to quantify how many data centers exist in Illinois and in Kane County and to evaluate trade-offs: tax revenues versus energy and water demand. Members noted that municipalities such as Batavia have recently imposed water-use restrictions or moratoria while they study impacts and zoning.
County staff said siting and approvals for data centers are generally handled at the municipal level because of infrastructure requirements, and that answers about impacts vary with facility size and cooling technology (water-based versus non-water-based cooling). Staff suggested the committee could compile counts of data centers in the state and county and review municipal studies — for example, Batavia’s recent water-use restriction — to gather best practices.
Members noted broader concerns about electric demand associated with large-scale AI and data-center growth and suggested looking at regional studies and state incentives to understand both risks and benefits.
The committee directed staff to start with an inventory of local and state data centers and relevant municipal actions and to report back with what similar jurisdictions have done to manage water and energy impacts.