The Sangamon County Board will hold its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, April 7 at 6:00 p.m., which has been moved to the Bank of Springfield Center. The controversial topic of zoning for a data center could be brought up again.
The proposed CyrusOne data center conditional use permit was tabled at the March 23 board meeting on a 15-13 vote.
According to board rules, "a motion to remove the item from the table may be made at any of the next three regular meetings following the meeting at which the item was tabled."
"If a motion to remove the item from the table is made, it must be approved by a majority of Board members present," the rules state.
If approved, consideration of the proposed data center conditional use permit would resume at the point it was tabled — with board member questions of professional county staff, CyrusOne representatives, and the Coalition for Springfield’s Utility Future.
Data centers house large, networked servers and systems that store and process massive amounts of data. They are viewed as the backbone of the internet, supporting cloud services, AI, websites, and digital communication. Experts say more data centers are needed to meet the growing demand for immense processing power and storage.
The $500 million project is planned for Talkington Township, southwest of Springfield near Waverly. It would be the first major data center in central Illinois. Supporters say it will provide jobs and a boost to the tax base.
Concerns range from pollution and taking farmland out of production to a drain on resources, such as electricity, with the potential to increase rates for everyone. The utility that will provide power to the site, Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative, has rejected that argument.
While some have also warned of heavy water usage, CyrusOne officials said a closed-loop cooling system will limit how much water is needed.
Members of the public wishing to speak during the public comment period must sign up in advance: SangamonIL.gov/PublicComment
Those attending are reminded to follow the County’s Code of Conduct and Decorum Policy to ensure an orderly meeting: https://sangamon.municipalcodeonline.com/book?type=ordinances#name=2.04.245_Code_Of_Conduct_And_Decorum_Policy
