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Residents urge pause on Western Avenue St. Francis site while state data‑center rules advance
Summary
At public comment, residents asked the Blue Island City Council to freeze any zoning or approvals for the former St. Francis Hospital site and demanded independent studies (noise, water allocation, grid audits, air quality, comprehensive plan alignment) before the city considers a large AI data center proposal.
During the public comment period of the May 27 meeting, Janette White, who identified herself as executive director of C10 Research Partners and a president of Blue Island, urged the council to halt any consideration of proposals for the former St. Francis Hospital site on Western Avenue until pending state legislation and independent environmental and infrastructure studies are complete.
"Blue Island's future should not be sacrificed to bail out a private lender's bad debt," White said, arguing that the site's developer, Builder's Capital, was under financial pressure and might rush approvals. She asked the city to "freeze any and all considerations like zoning votes, variances, or project approvals for the Western Avenue site until the state legislature finishes its summer session and finalizes these grid and community protections."
White outlined five specific studies and disclosures she said should precede any approval: (1) an independent continuous low-frequency sound engineering assessment modeling 24/7 ambient noise from thousands of server-cooling fans; (2) a Lake Michigan water-allocation audit showing precise daily cooling-water needs and proof that diversion caps would not be violated; (3) a certified electrical grid-capacity and financial audit proving upgrades would not shift multi-million-dollar costs to local residential ratepayers; (4) an Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (or equivalent) air-quality and PM2.5 cumulative-emissions assessment, including planned backup-generation fuel sources and testing schedules; and (5) a demonstration of compatibility with the Blue Island comprehensive plan.
White said Illinois legislation under consideration — referenced in her remarks as bills in the Illinois Power Act (citing SB4103 and HB5513 in the transcript) — would establish additional baseline protections; she urged the council to await those state actions before advancing local approvals. No developer representative responded directly during public comment.
Other residents voiced related concerns about housing and park impacts tied to redevelopment. Joseph Cervantes, an interim secretary of the Forest View Residents Council, said his community of nearly 50-year-old workforce housing was at immediate risk and called for the city to work with residents and seek joint legal remedies when property owners act in ways that threaten tenants.
The council did not take a vote on zoning or approvals for the Western Avenue site at the meeting. Mayor Vado noted that, as of that night, nothing formal had been submitted on a data center, and staff reiterated that state-required processes and local permitting rules remain in force.
