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Resident urges protest of Joliet data center, raising electricity and contamination concerns
Summary
Janet Diaz, who grew up in New Lenox, urged trustees to oppose an 800-acre Joliet data center project she says could strain the electric grid and risk local well water through chemical disposal; she encouraged residents to join a protest and sign a petition.
During the public-comment portion of the meeting, Janet Diaz of Joliet (who said she grew up in New Lenox) addressed trustees about a proposed 800-acre data center in Joliet. Diaz said the project’s operators claim the complex could use as much electricity as all Chicago homes and that officials have not disclosed specifics about the site or operations.
Diaz said the regional grid is already stressed and warned that residents could face much higher electric bills if the project proceeds without adequate safeguards. She also raised concerns about chemical disposal, referring to them in the meeting as "forever chemicals," and said she was worried about impacts to local well water where she grew up.
She told the board she had organized a protest for this Saturday at Larkin and Jefferson and left a QR code for residents to sign a petition. Mayor Balderman thanked her for attending and noted that state-level attention to data-center incentives is under discussion; no action was taken by the board on the Joliet project at the meeting.
Diaz’s comments reflect community concern about large data-center developments; trustees listened and encouraged citizens’ engagement but did not take any formal position during the meeting.
