Governor Pritzker signs 2027 $55.9 billion budget
No action on the POWER Act
Governor Pritzker signed the 2027 $55.9 Billion budget into law, however the legislative session ended with no action on the POWER Act that proposes guardrails to protect communities from the negative impacts of data center development including groundwater utilization and the rising cost to consumers of electrical power generation.
The good news is that Governor Pritzker has suspended tax incentives to data center developers for two years. Twenty-seven big tech data centers operating in Illinois have received $983 Million in incentives since 2020. Responding to concerns over energy affordability and water resources, Pritzker authorized the pause on new agreements to take effect July 1.
The data center debate will return to the forefront in the Veto Session. As of today, none of our local legislators have signed on to co-sponsor the bill (HB 5513).
Lobby for the Power Act
Springfield, May 30
I joined the Illinois Environmental Council and many Kane County neighbors in Springfield to lobby for the POWER Act which is expected to be voted during the Veto Session. In brief, the POWER Act seeks to protect Illinois property owners and residents from incurring higher electric bills due to data center consumption, protecting water resources by requiring efficient cooling systems and transparent reporting of expected and actual water usage and prohibiting non-disclosure agreements with local governments and utilities.
