Bloomington-Normal Residents Speak Out Against Hyperscale Data Centers in Public Forum

Data Center Concerns Rise in Bloomington-Normal

Residents in Bloomington and Normal gathered at public forums on Wednesday to voice their concerns about the possibility of hyperscale data centers in their communities. The forums drew about 70 attendees who expressed overwhelming opposition to the idea of large AI farms being built in collaboration with city officials.

Mayor Dan Brady and City Manager Jeff Jurgens led the sessions at the Bloomington Center for the Performing Arts. The 2 p.m. session ran from 2 to 4 p.m with an additional session at 6 p.m.

Jurgens told attendees there is real interest from outside developers on building a hyperscale data center in Bloomington. He previously noted to WGLT the city likely does not have room for a center and could look to annex county land in such a case.

The city will relay community feedback to the Bloomington City Council to help inform city policy on data centers. Jurgens said the council needs to make a decision on what they want to do and what direction they are going.

The city currently has two small data centers but they are not the scale of the AI farms residents shared concerns about. Facilities like a center recently approved in Sangamon County are large and impactful projects.

Water and Energy Concerns

Water was the chief concern of most public speakers. Dale Nafziger, former owner of Growing Grounds, questioned why the city would even discuss data centers in a city that has water problems. He said government always seems to screw things up.

Earlier this year Bloomington and much of Central Illinois was considered to be in a drought. Jurgens told WGLT in February the city also loses up to 3 million gallons a day due to aging water mains. He noted the city has a daily average use of 10 million gallons of water with peak usage reaching 17 million gallons.

Matt Hickman of Normal said his main concern is conservation. He stated data centers are not clean or invisible infrastructure simply because people interact with them through screens. They are massive industrial facilities that consume enormous amounts of electricity and water while generating continuous waste heat noise and environmental strain.

Hickman thinks the physical burden of a data center is not worth the possible benefits.

Farmland and Land Use

Several residents brought up concerns about land use and farmland. Wayne Karplus of Bloomington wanted to know specifics about the location and asked if it would be placed outside city limits. He said it would most likely be taking farmland away.

Karplus encouraged the city to put a data center on a brownfield site on the west side on the site of former rail yards. He asked the city to have more communication about zoning possibilities so a data center would not further exacerbate the city housing shortage.

Taylor Stanton of Heyworth worried about the use or misuse of soil. She asked why the city would choose to sacrifice irreplaceable farmland strain critical water resources and expand industrial infrastructure for something that does not feed people or sustain them or give back to the land it replaces.

Stanton said once you make this decision people live with it.

Transparency and Community Engagement

Transparency was another recurring theme brought up by attendees. Zach Gittrich pressed the issue repeatedly asking questions concerning the use of AI Mayor Brady position on the POWER Act and possible regulations.

Gittrich asked why Bloomington cannot answer these questions with more clarity.

Bill Clark of Bloomington was the only resident at the 2 p.m. session who was supportive during public comment. He argued AI is inevitable and Bloomington should take advantage of the opportunity if it arises.

Clark said somebody is going to use this technology and if the United States does not use it then someone overseas will use it. He finds AI assistant technology to be powerful and thinks the technology has some uses.

Clark supported regulations coming out of the state and said that is the way to do it.

Community Benefits and Revenue Sharing

The Protecting Our Water Energy and Ratepayers Act or POWER Act is pending legislation in Springfield. The law would require data centers in Illinois to pay for their own energy costs including new infrastructure rather than shift costs to residents.

Residents like Stanton pressed the issue repeatedly asking questions about the city involvement with data centers and the use of AI.

Future Considerations

In March McLean County approved zoning changes to limit potential data centers to land only zoned for manufacturing. The county also is not currently considering any data centers.

The forum was about listening to community members and being transparent about the process. Brady said that is what he has tried to do in his entire political and government career.

Jurgens and Brady said the community feedback will be relayed to the Bloomington City Council and help inform a city policy on data centers. They expressed appreciation for everyone coming to the forums.