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IL — State Policy Updated 2026-07-17

Illinois

Statewide, data-center-specific program Related tax exemptions and credits Local and non-specific incentives Active, recent, or resolved moratoriums Zoning and performance-standard trends

1) Incentive programs

Statewide, data-center-specific program (Data Center Investment Program)

  • Primary statute and scope: Illinois’ Data Center Investment Program authorizes certificates of exemption from the Retailers’ Occupation Tax Act, Use Tax Act, Service Use Tax Act, Service Occupation Tax Act, state-administered local retailers’ occupation taxes, the Chicago non-titled use tax, and a related income-tax credit certification for qualifying Illinois data centers. Illinois General Assembly, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Core incentives: DCEO describes the program as providing owners and operators exemptions from a variety of state and local taxes for qualifying Illinois data centers, plus a 20% wage credit for construction-worker wages on projects located in underserved areas. Illinois DCEO, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Eligibility thresholds: Standard eligibility generally requires at least $250 million in capital investment over a 60-month period, at least 20 new full-time or full-time-equivalent jobs, compensation at least 120% of the county average wage, carbon-neutral or green-building compliance within two years of being placed in service, and labor requirements including responsible-bidder and project-labor-agreement standards. Illinois General Assembly, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Certificate structure and sunset: DCEO issues memoranda of understanding and certificates in five-year increments, with renewals up to a maximum of 20 years; the statute authorizes issuance of new certificates through July 1, 2029, subject to the 2026 pause described below. Illinois DCEO, 2024 Annual Report, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Latest program scale: DCEO’s statutory report released July 1 lists 35 applications, 34 approvals, 1 withdrawn/denied, and 0 pending through December 31, 2025; it also reports 7 MOUs signed during 2025, 34 operator certificates, 91 tenant certificates, and 0 construction tax-credit certificates. The 34 projects committed $10.666 billion, an estimated $666.613 million in tax benefits, 731 new jobs, and 16 underserved-area projects. Illinois DCEO, 2025 Annual Report, 2026-07-01
  • Reconciliation with the prior report: The 2024 report had listed 27 projects, $8.11 billion in commitments, $15.73 billion in reported actual investment, and $983.20 million in estimated benefits. The new report supplies commitment values rather than an updated actual-investment total and revises several older project values, so the $15.73 billion and $983.20 million figures are preserved as the prior report’s historical snapshot, not treated as current equivalents. Capitol News Illinois reported that DCEO had not explained the resulting fall in estimated benefits from $983.2 million to $666.6 million. Illinois DCEO, 2024 Annual Report, 2025-07-01 Capitol News Illinois, 2026-07-01
  • 2026 administrative pause is now operative: Gov. JB Pritzker announced the pause on June 5; after a June 13 deadline to complete pipeline applications and a June 30 deadline to finalize pending awards, DCEO stopped accepting or processing new applications on July 1, 2026 for a planned two years. Existing agreements remain eligible under current law. Governor JB Pritzker, 2026-06-05 Illinois DCEO, 2026-07-01

Local and non-specific incentives

  • Local property-tax and development incentives remain separate from the state pause: Illinois local governments may still use local tools such as annexation agreements, utility taxes, enterprise-zone benefits, property-tax abatements, or infrastructure contribution agreements, but those tools are negotiated locally and are not automatically provided by the state Data Center Investment Program. Illinois General Assembly, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Joliet community-investment package: Before approving the Joliet Technology Center, Joliet announced a proposed developer commitment of up to $100 million for sidewalks, streets, and city services, including an initial $20 million within 30 days of closing and additional $20 million payments before building permits for each of four phases. City of Joliet, 2026-03-13

2) Restrictions and moratoriums

Active, recent, or resolved moratoriums

  • Aurora (Kane County) - moratorium resolved through new ordinance standards: Aurora’s 180-day 2025 moratorium is no longer the operative status; after the moratorium, the City Council approved new data-center regulations on March 25, 2026 requiring future data centers to proceed as conditional uses with public hearings, City Council approval, water/energy/sound studies, annual reporting, noise/vibration limits, limits on generator testing, and restrictions including no modular nuclear facilities and no evaporative cooling. City of Aurora, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Godfrey (Madison County): Godfrey approved a 180-day moratorium on January 20, 2026, directing staff not to accept or review data-center applications while the village studies infrastructure capacity, land-use, environmental, and utility impacts; the moratorium remained within its stated term as of July 17, and no superseding public action was found. The Telegraph, 2026-01-21
  • Champaign County: The Champaign County Board enacted a 12-month moratorium on new large-scale data centers on April 23, 2026, after public concern over water and energy use; local reporting describes the moratorium as applying to new data centers over 10,000 square feet. IPM Newsroom, 2026-04-24 Daily Illini, 2026-04-27
  • Logan County: Logan County first adopted a 60-day moratorium on February 24, 2026, amid review of Hut 8’s proposed project near Latham, then approved a one-year moratorium by a 6-4 vote on May 19, 2026. Illinois Times, 2026-03-19 Illinois Times, 2026-05-22
  • Morgan County: Morgan County adopted a six-month moratorium on data-center developments on April 27, 2026, even though county officials said no company had approached the county; officials cited the need to study standards in a county without zoning, and later emphasized that the moratorium applied to unincorporated areas. Jacksonville Journal-Courier, 2026-05-28 Jacksonville Journal-Courier, 2026-06-09
  • Iroquois and LaSalle counties: Iroquois County adopted Ordinance 2026-8 on April 14, temporarily barring data centers and warehouses in all zoning districts; LaSalle County adopted Ordinance 26-65 on June 8, imposing a 12-month data-center moratorium. Iroquois County Board, 2026-04-14 LaSalle County Board, 2026-06-08
  • Troy and Plainfield: Troy approved a six-month moratorium in March; Plainfield approved a 180-day moratorium in April, extendable by Village Board action. The Troy Times Tribune, 2026-03-18 Shaw Local, 2026-04-21
  • Effingham and Bourbonnais: Effingham approved a 12-month moratorium on June 2 covering data-center and cryptocurrency-mining applications within the city and its 1.5-mile extraterritorial area; Bourbonnais approved a moratorium on June 15 that runs through January 31, 2027. 979 XFM, 2026-06-02 Shaw Local, 2026-06-18
  • Carbondale: The City Council enacted a one-year moratorium on June 23 while staff develop zoning standards, following public concerns about water, power, noise, and light. City of Carbondale, 2026-06-23 KFVS, 2026-06-24
  • Normal: The Town Council unanimously adopted a moratorium on May 18 that stops receipt, processing, approval, and permitting of data-center applications through November 30, 2026 while the town prepares comprehensive standards. Town of Normal, 2026-05-18 25News, 2026-05-18
  • West Chicago: On July 6 the City Council unanimously adopted Ordinance 26-O-0011, a 180-day moratorium on new data-center and battery-storage applications and approvals in all zoning districts. Previously approved permits and complete pending applications are protected, and the Council may extend or lift the pause. City of West Chicago meeting packet, 2026-07-06 City of West Chicago meeting video, 2026-07-06
  • Lake County administrative deferral and proposed moratorium: On June 9 the County Board directed the Zoning Board of Appeals to hold a hearing on a possible moratorium of up to eight months; beginning June 10, the county separately imposed an immediate temporary administrative deferral on accepting or processing data-center applications, limited to 120 days or until final County Board action. A final eight-month moratorium had not been adopted by July 17. Lake County Board, 2026-06-09 Lake County, 2026-06-10
  • Local review is now moving from simple moratoriums to operating standards: Aurora’s March 2026 framework requires conditional-use review, public notice, energy/water/noise studies, annual energy and water reporting, generator-testing limits, backup-power restrictions, and onsite renewable or battery-storage alternatives for future data centers. City of Aurora, accessed 2026-06-10
  • County boards are using moratoriums as task-force windows: Champaign County created a Data Center Activities Task Force to study data-center development and recommend zoning amendments during the county’s enacted 12-month permitting pause. Champaign County, accessed 2026-07-17 IPM Newsroom, 2026-04-24
  • McLean County adopted detailed use standards instead of a moratorium: On June 11 the County Board amended Section 350-43 with 13 requirements for data centers, including screening and lighting controls; road, emergency-response, and public-infrastructure obligations; disclosure and annual reporting of water use; additional protection for Mahomet Aquifer withdrawals; electricity-source and peak-load disclosure; noise limits; wastewater and backup-generation controls; decommissioning security; and efforts to minimize land used for new clean-energy resources. McLean County Board, 2026-06-11
  • No statewide siting ban: The growing list above consists of local actions with different scopes and expiration dates; Illinois had not enacted a statewide data-center construction moratorium or ban by July 17. The statewide action was instead the administrative pause on new tax-incentive awards. Illinois DCEO, 2026-07-01

3) Local governance and community opposition

  • Sangamon County approval despite opposition: On April 7, 2026, the Sangamon County Board approved CyrusOne’s proposed $500 million data center on a 17-10 vote with one abstention, after tabling the item in March; the project is planned for roughly 280 acres in Talkington Township and about 600 MW when fully built. NPR Illinois, 2026-04-07 Illinois Times, 2026-04-07
  • Yorkville approvals and litigation: Yorkville approved the roughly 1,037-acre, 14-building Project Cardinal in March and later approved the roughly 540-acre, 16-building Project Steel. Residents filed three lawsuits by May 28 challenging the approvals on notice, Open Meetings Act, process, and planning grounds; Cardinal’s developer also sought to extend a July 1, 2026 contractual milestone to December 31, 2027. The approvals therefore remain subject to closing conditions and litigation rather than representing operating projects. Shaw Local, 2026-03-13 Shaw Local, 2026-03-27 Shaw Local, 2026-05-28 The Real Deal, 2026-06-09
  • Yorkville’s other proposals were reduced or withdrawn: The already-approved 228-acre CyrusOne/Green Door campus reduced its plan in February from nine two-story buildings totaling 2.4 million square feet to eight buildings totaling 2.1 million square feet and indicated that all eight could become one story. After the planning commission rejected the nearby Meyer proposal and the City Council signaled no support for additional projects, its developer withdrew the roughly 80-91-acre petition on April 14; C1 Yorkville also withdrew all applications on April 17 for a separate 128-acre, three-building Phase 2. The mayor said the council had no appetite for projects beyond the three already approved. Shaw Local, 2026-02-11 Shaw Local, 2026-04-15 United City of Yorkville, 2026-04-17
  • Rejections and withdrawals after public opposition: Rochelle’s City Council voted 0-7 on April 27 against Project Crossroads, whose first phase was described as 48 MW with possible expansion beyond 150 MW. In Hoffman Estates, Karis Critical withdrew its rezoning request on June 30 for a separate 186-acre Higgins Road proposal, canceling the expected July 6 vote while leaving open the possibility of a later resubmission. WIFR, 2026-04-27 Data Center Dynamics, 2026-07-02
  • Environmental and community themes broadened: February-July proceedings repeatedly raised water use, electricity demand and rates, noise, farmland conversion, light, public notice, and local authority. T5’s Grayslake project also entered construction next to the Mill Creek headwaters while Lake County considered countywide standards. Lake County, 2026-05-15 Illinois Times, 2026-03-19 IPM Newsroom, 2026-04-24 KFVS, 2026-06-24

4) Legislative and executive activity (2024-2026)

Enacted / administrative

2026 bills and spring-session outcome

  • POWER Act - SB4016 / HB5513: The Protecting Our Water, Energy, and Ratepayers Act proposed a comprehensive hyperscale-data-center framework covering cumulative-impact review, public notice, community benefits agreements, water planning, quarterly water reporting, water-impact permits, energy and water reporting to the ICC, renewable procurement, and cost protections; SB4016 was re-referred to Senate Assignments on May 22, 2026, HB5513 was re-referred to House Rules on March 27, 2026, and Capitol News Illinois reported on May 30 that the bill would not pass during the spring session. Illinois General Assembly SB4016, accessed 2026-06-10 Illinois General Assembly HB5513, accessed 2026-06-10 Capitol News Illinois, 2026-05-30
  • SB2181 - Data Center Reporting: SB2181, creating an Illinois Data Center Energy and Water Reporting Act and requiring an Illinois Power Agency ratepayer-impact study, was re-referred to Senate Assignments on May 22, 2026 and did not pass during the spring session. Illinois General Assembly SB2181, accessed 2026-06-10
  • SB3830 - Data Centers-Various: SB3830 proposed a data-center self-direct renewable-energy program, annual facility and load reporting, water-consumption disclosure, wastewater-pollutant monitoring, and utility tariff/rate-design filings; it was re-referred to Senate Assignments on May 22, 2026. Illinois General Assembly SB3830, accessed 2026-06-10
  • SB3761 - Data Centers-Various: SB3761 separately proposed a self-direct clean-energy structure, preconstruction utility disclosure, data-center energy/water reporting, and tariff changes; it was re-referred to Senate Assignments on May 22, 2026 and did not pass in spring. Illinois General Assembly SB3761, 2026-05-22
  • SB4004 - Data Center Water Transparency and Aquifer Protection Act: SB4004 would prohibit data-center use of Mahomet Aquifer water beginning in 2027, require existing users to transition by 2028, and bar local NDAs restricting disclosure of water-use information; it was re-referred to Senate Assignments on May 22, 2026. Illinois General Assembly SB4004, accessed 2026-06-10
  • SB3120 - water stewardship condition: SB3120 would condition incentive eligibility on a water-stewardship strategy and add water information to DCEO reporting; it was re-referred to Senate Assignments on May 22, 2026. Illinois General Assembly SB3120, 2026-05-22
  • HB5607 - Advanced Technology Leadership Act: HB5607 proposed clean-energy attribute-credit procurement and retirement requirements for covered data centers beginning in 2027, but it was re-referred to House Rules on March 27, 2026. Illinois General Assembly HB5607, accessed 2026-06-10
  • HB4989 - heating/cooling and heat reuse: HB4989 would require heat-reuse planning and liquid-cooling systems for specified new large facilities, including data centers of at least 20 MW; it remained in House Rules after its February 6, 2026 referral. Illinois General Assembly HB4989, 2026-02-06
  • HB4319 - neighboring-property compensation: HB4319 would create a compensation claim for specified harms to property owners within 1,000 feet of a data center; it remained in House Rules and did not advance during spring. Illinois General Assembly HB4319, 2026-01-14
  • Broader megaproject property-tax bills - HB2789 / SB4017 / HB5556: These bills were not data-center-specific, but their proposed assessment freezes and negotiated payment structures could encompass qualifying megaproject data centers. HB2789 returned to House Rules on March 27; the substantially related SB4017 returned to Senate Assignments on May 22, and HB5556 returned to House Rules on March 27. None passed in spring. Illinois General Assembly HB2789, 2026-03-27 Illinois General Assembly SB4017, 2026-05-22 Illinois General Assembly HB5556, 2026-03-27
  • SB3578 and SB0094 - foreign ownership / foreign adversary bills: SB3578 was filed on February 5, 2026 and would create a Data Center Construction by Foreign Adversaries Act; it was referred to Senate Assignments and did not advance. The earlier SB0094 was also a foreign-ownership bill, not a certificate-duration bill, and remained in Assignments after its 2025 referral. Illinois General Assembly SB3578, accessed 2026-06-10 Illinois General Assembly SB0094, accessed 2026-06-10
  • SB4203 - host-community payments / CBAs: SB4203 was filed on May 13, 2026 and would condition DCEO data-center certificates on a host-community community-benefit agreement and annual minimum payments equal to at least 10% of the prior-year property tax that would have been levied absent exemptions or abatements; it was referred to Senate Assignments and did not advance. Illinois General Assembly SB4203, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Local-control and referendum bills: SB4206 and Senate Amendment 1 to SB1050 would authorize counties and municipalities to establish local data-center siting/construction standards, and HB5755 would require municipal public hearings and referendum approval for certain data-center siting approvals; each remained short of final passage in the spring session. Illinois General Assembly SB4206, accessed 2026-06-10 Illinois General Assembly SB1050, accessed 2026-06-10 Illinois General Assembly HB5755, accessed 2026-06-10
  • HR0744 - own-energy resolution: HR0744 urged all Illinois data centers to provide their own energy and urged the IPA/IEPA/ICC to use existing statutory tools to reduce or delay emissions impacts; it was referred to House Rules on March 24, 2026. Illinois General Assembly HR0744, accessed 2026-06-10
  • Spring-session result and status terminology: None of the listed data-center bills reached enactment in spring 2026. Most were re-referred to Rules or Assignments rather than formally defeated, so they remain technically available in the 104th General Assembly even though they did not pass the spring session. Illinois State Association of Counties, 2026-06-01

5) Notable projects and operators (statewide)

  • Certified / approved program participants: DCEO’s July 2026 report lists 34 approved projects. The seven agreements added in 2025 were T5 in Grayslake, CenterSquare ORD2 in Elk Grove Village, CenterSquare ORD4 in Lisle, Oracle in Elk Grove Village, HydraVault in Chicago, EdgeConneX in Elk Grove Village, and SDC CHI III in Elk Grove Village; together they committed about $2.559 billion, $159.923 million in estimated benefits, and 140 jobs. Illinois DCEO, 2025 Annual Report, 2026-07-01
  • Joliet Technology Center (PowerHouse / Hillwood): Joliet approved conditional annexation for approximately 795 acres for the proposed Joliet Technology Center on March 19, 2026; Data Center Dynamics reported the approved campus at $20 billion, 24 buildings, and up to 1.8 GW of capacity at full buildout. City of Joliet, 2026-03-19 Data Center Dynamics, 2026-03-24
  • CyrusOne - Sangamon County: Sangamon County approved CyrusOne’s $500 million, approximately 600-634 MW Talkington Township project in April 2026 after ZBA recommendation, public opposition, and a March tabling vote. NPR Illinois, 2026-04-07 Illinois Times, 2026-03-05
  • Hut 8 - Logan County: Hut 8’s proposed project near Latham was described in March reporting as a $5 billion, 500 MW, approximately 200-acre data center with 200 permanent jobs and 1,500 construction jobs; the proposal was delayed by county moratorium action and the May 19 one-year moratorium. Illinois Times, 2026-03-19 Illinois Times, 2026-05-22
  • Yorkville - Project Cardinal and Project Steel: The city approved land-use and development agreements for two very large campuses in March, but both remain contingent on land closings and other milestones and are being challenged in court; Cardinal’s developer requested an 18-month extension of a contractual deadline. Shaw Local, 2026-03-13 Shaw Local, 2026-03-27 The Real Deal, 2026-06-09
  • Yorkville - CyrusOne reduced; Meyer and C1 Phase 2 withdrawn: The first approved CyrusOne/Green Door campus reduced its building count and floor area in February while saying site work would begin soon; the separate Meyer and 128-acre C1 Yorkville Phase 2 proposals were withdrawn in April after local support for more projects collapsed. Shaw Local, 2026-02-11 Shaw Local, 2026-04-15 United City of Yorkville, 2026-04-17
  • Rochelle - Project Crossroads rejected: Rochelle rejected the proposed 48 MW first phase and potential 150-plus-MW expansion on April 27, changing the project’s status from proposal to locally denied. WIFR, 2026-04-27
  • Hoffman Estates - Karis Higgins Road proposal withdrawn: Karis Critical withdrew its rezoning request for a 186-acre parcel on June 30; this was a separate proposal from the Compass/Sears campus, and no July 6 approval vote occurred. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-07-02
  • Christian County - Meridian Technology Park remains exploratory: A June presentation described a possible $6 billion-$8.8 billion, 1 GW, 475-acre campus near Taylorville with a developer claim of 500 permanent jobs, but utility study work was still underway and no formal local application or approval had occurred. Illinois Times, 2026-06-11
  • Naperville - Karis site exploration: Karis was considering acquisition of the 168-acre INEOS property for a mixed manufacturing/data-center concept, but Naperville reported no pending application or development entitlement as of June 22. Data Center Dynamics, 2026-06-22
  • South Elgin - early-stage 20-acre proposal: A proposed 20-acre data center became public by July 17; Planning and Zoning Commission review was deferred to the following month, and nearby residents had begun organizing opposition. No approval, investment value, or MW rating was reported by the cutoff. Daily Herald, 2026-07-17
  • Champaign County pipeline inquiries: Local reporting identified serious inquiries and possible 300-plus-acre proposals, but public sources reviewed through July 17 did not identify a named developer or final project approval before the county’s moratorium. CU-CitizenAccess, 2026-04-30

Notes on source coverage