Climate groups against data centers.

It's bigger in Texas!

PS. A big shout out to Gov Fatso who wants green data centers. I wonder what that looks like?

Axios News

Dec 22, 2025

Some Illinois climate groups want a halt on new data centers, citing environmental concerns, while a new state report warns that the centers could outstrip our energy supply.

Why it matters: With at least 222 data centers, Illinois hosts the fifth largest inventory of these buildings used to house computer systems, servers and storage infrastructure, making us particularly vulnerable to their effects.

The intrigue: The Trump administration supports data center expansion but so does Gov. JB Pritzker, albeit with requirements on subsidy disclosures, green construction and air emissions.

Driving the news: This month local groups, including Save Our Illinois Land and Sustainable Springfield, joined 230 other environmental groups in urging Congress to halt the expansion of data center development.

What they're saying: Expansion, driven by the "AI and crypto boom, presents one of the biggest environmental and social threats of our generation," their joint letter reads.

[It's also] "rapidly increasing demand for energy, driving more fossil fuel pollution, straining water resources and raising electricity prices across the country."

Meanwhile, civil rights groups are increasingly concerned that AI's rapidly spreading data centers are deepening climate burdens for communities of color.

The other side: A Pritzker spokesperson notes that the data center industry generated $3.51 billion in direct and indirect tax revenue in Illinois in 2022-2023, according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers report.