The Champaign County Data Center Activities Task Force has met seven times over the last six months to develop an ordinance that will protect Champaign County if a large data center wants to build in the area. The task force’s next meeting, scheduled for August 31, is a major opportunity for the public to weigh in on the current draft of the ordinance. The entire agenda is dedicated to public comments.
Andrew Rehn, PRN’s director of climate policy, sits on the task force.
“Any and all public input is welcome,” he says, ”but I would really really appreciate it if folks took time to read the draft ordinance, or a section of it, and provide specific feedback and ideas.”
There are two ways you can do this:
- Dig into a specific topic within the draft and provide feedback. Choose a topic from the draft’s table of contents below, read it through, and prepare feedback for the task force, or
- Tell the task force what’s missing from the ordinance. Are there any major topics you’d like to see addressed that are not in the draft ordinance? Let the task force know.
The table of contents is at the end of this page, and will help you navigate the draft ordinance.
Share your feedback at the meeting:
Monday, August 31, 2026 – 6:30 p.m.
Shields-Carter Meeting Room
Bennett Administrative Center
102 E. Main St., Urbana
Feedback can also be shared via email at CountyBoard@champaigncountyil.gov. Please indicate in the email’s subject line that you are commenting on the draft ordinance.
What is the Data Center Activities Task Force?
Early this year, in response to outreach from large data center developers, the Champaign County Board recognized that its existing data center ordinance was not suited for large data centers, like the hyperscalers we are seeing in other parts of Illinois and across the US.
To correct this, the Environment and Land Use Committee (ELUC) of the Board initiated a 1-year moratorium on new large data centers and created a Data Center Activities Task Force.
While the task force was able to begin its work immediately, enacting the moratorium required a more extensive approval process. On April 23, 2026, the Champaign County Board approved the 1-year moratorium on large data centers in Champaign County to provide time for the task force to develop a new ordinance for large data centers.
Where are we in the process?
The Data Center Activities Task Force is nearing the end of its work. Unless public comments at the August 31 meeting reveal additional areas requiring discussion, the task force will hand off the draft ordinance to ELUC at its final scheduled meeting on September 21. The task force has the power to schedule more meetings, if needed.
The draft ordinance still has a long way to go after the task force hands it off to ELUC. The four key next steps are:
- ELUC reviews the draft ordinance and sends it to the Champaign Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA).
- The ZBA holds a formal public hearing on the proposed ordinance, and, if approved, sends it back to ELUC.
- ELUC again reviews the draft ordinance and makes a recommendation to the full County Board. In spring 2026, a last minute edit to shorten the moratorium was added at this step in the process, and was later overturned by the full board.
- The full Champaign County Board votes on the proposed ordinance.
At this point, it is unclear exactly which meetings will have the draft ordinance on the agenda, but the county board’s calendar provides some possible pathways. If the task force finishes its work in September, for example, the earliest the ordinance could reach the full board is in November, following this meeting cadence: October 8 (ELUC); October 15 (ZBA); November 5 (ELUC); and November 10 (Committee of the Whole).
This new ordinance must be approved before the moratorium expires in mid-April 2027. If it is not approved and the board doesn’t extend the moratorium, the county will be vulnerable to a large data center proposal. Fortunately, there’s still plenty of runway between now and April for a few more task force meetings.
Reading the draft ordinance
Use the following table of contents to help you navigate the draft. While not fully comprehensive, the links below will refer you to specific sections for your review and, hopefully, your feedback.
- Definition of a Big Data Center — Page 1
- Setbacks — Page 3
- Backup Power Generators — Page 7
- Roadway Impacts — Page 12
- Coordination with Local Fire Protection District — Page 16
- Allowable Noise Level — Page 17
- Endangered Species — Page 22
- Historic and Archaeological Resources Review — Page 22
- Acceptable Wildlife Impacts — Page 22
- Screening and Fencing — Page 22
- Liability Insurance — Page 25
- Water Use and Cooling — Page 25
- Energy Use and Impact on the Electrical Grid — Page 27
- Operation – Maintenance — Page 28
- Operation – Materials Handling, Storage and Disposal — Page 29
- Operation – Vegetative management — Page 29
- Complaint Hotline — Page 29
- Expiration — Page 30
- Application Requirements — Page 30
- Fees — Page 33, Page 297 of Zoning Ordinance (for fee schedule reference)
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. It did not pass in the spring, so PRN and our partners are again pushing for the POWER Act during the fall veto session in November.
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!).
PRN’s data centers page offers a comprehensive list of additional resources and is updated frequently.
