LaSalle County board member urges temporary moratorium on large data centers

At the May 14 meeting, LaSalle County Board member Ms. Bernal proposed a temporary moratorium on large-scale data center development in the county to allow officials time to study impacts and craft ordinance language.

Bernal said a moratorium would not be a rejection of economic development but a step to "act deliberately before approving projects that carry significant implications for our power grid, water sources, noise levels, and community character." She pointed to actions by Champaign County, Logan County and Aurora as examples of jurisdictions pausing to evaluate energy and land-use issues.

During the public comment exchange, Meta Mueller, chief of staff for State Rep. Amy Murray Brill, told the board the legislature is focused on the state budget and that the representative is concerned about data centers and solar fields that remove productive farmland. Mueller described variability among data-center builders' practices and said some newer data centers use innovative water and heat-reuse strategies.

Board members asked procedural and policy questions about how a moratorium would work and what authority the county has. Ms. Bernal urged using the pause to develop clear local benefits such as local hiring commitments, property-tax arrangements and infrastructure investments.

No formal moratorium ordinance was adopted at the meeting; Bernal's remarks were an explicit request for the board to consider that step.