Champaign County’s Push for a Data Center Moratorium

Champaign County! We need your voice on April 23rd at the Champaign County Board meeting. (If you’re not in Champaign County, keep reading—the information here could be useful if a data center developer wants to build one in your county). 

The Champaign County Board is in the process of approving a moratorium on new large data centers. The moratorium will allow time for the recently appointed Data Center Activities Task Force to develop new county zoning rules for large data centers. 

We need the county board to:

1. Approve the moratorium. No matter what, this moratorium needs to be approved; otherwise the county will be required to consider any data center application using the old rules.
2. Return the moratorium’s duration to 12 months. The proposed moratorium was shortened to 9 months at the last Environmental & Land Use Committee (ELUC) meeting. The moratorium should be changed back to 12 months, to give the task force time to develop a good ordinance.

How can you help?

If you live in Champaign County, your voice has an impact. Here are some ways to step up:

• Attend the county board meeting on April 23. Public comments are encouraged and helpful, but bodies in the room make a difference. Arrive early to get a seat. Signs are encouraged! If you’re unable to attend, tune into the livestream via the Champaign County Board’s YouTube.
• Write to the county board in support of a moratorium and ask them to extend it back to 12 months. Email the board at CountyBoard@champaigncountyil.gov.
• Write or call your County Board Member and ask them to support a moratorium and extend it back to 12 months (use this map to find your county board member, and find their contact info here).
  • The county board pays attention to correspondence from constituents, so reaching out to them directly sends a strong message.

If you don’t live in Champaign County, consider taking actions to support the POWER Act.

How did we get here?

The moratorium process began at the Environmental & Land Use Committee (ELUC) of the Champaign County Board. 

• On February 5th, the ELUC unanimously voted to propose a 12-month moratorium and create the Data Center Activities Task Force. The task force needed no further action and was created right away, but getting the moratorium in place requires a longer process. 
• On March 19th, the proposed moratorium went to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a public hearing, with great turnout from the public (thank you!). The ZBA approved it to go back up to ELUC, which needed to again give its approval. 
• On April 9th, the ELUC again considered the moratorium. Organized labor showed up in force and, during the public comment period, asked for the moratorium to be reduced to 6 months. ELUC members were split on the issue, and compromised on a 9-month moratorium. ELUC voted to move the 9-month moratorium to the full county board.
• The full Champaign County Board will vote at their next meeting on Thursday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m.

Why was the moratorium shortened?

We believe the moratorium was shortened due to pressure from organized labor representing construction workers, pipefitters, and others who would likely be contracted to work on data center construction. The shorter the moratorium, the sooner ground can be broken on new data center facilities.  

What’s going on with the task force?

The Data Center Activities Task Force was created to develop new zoning rules for large data centers in Champaign County. The old rules were not designed for the “hyperscale” data centers we are seeing today. 

The task force’s first meeting was on March 23, 2026, and currently meets every three weeks. Andrew Rehn, Prairie Rivers Network’s Director of Climate Policy, is on the task force.

What is happening at the state level?

Illinois is an increasingly popular destination for data center developers, some of whom already have permits to build mind-bogglingly large facilities in Joliet, in Sangamon County, and elsewhere in the state, with many more waiting impatiently on deck. 

The POWER Act (HB5513/SB4016), introduced in the 2026 Illinois spring legislative session, is a robust, pioneering response to this uptick in interest. Once passed, the POWER Act will provide common-sense guard rails for data center development and the vast amounts of water and energy these facilities use. The page linked above has everything you need to take action, follow the bill, and read it in its entirety (it’s 632 pages long!).

Things are moving quickly all over Illinois, and it’s important to stay in the know! PRN’s data centers page offers a comprehensive list of additional resources and is updated frequently.