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According to ComEd, 2019 was a “turning point” for the data center industry in Illinois, following the passage of new state legislation offering a tax incentive to encourage tech giants and other firms to locate their data storage facilities in the state. In ComEd’s service territory across northern Illinois alone, there are now more than 70 operating data centers, with six under construction and another 13 in early design or planning stages, the company said.
Summary and audio linked here.
Chicago’s political leadership is floating a pension buyout program as evidence it is seriously addressing the city’s thirty-six-billion-dollar unfunded pension liability, but Mark Glennon, founder of the Illinois policy research organization Wirepoints, said that the proposal moves debt from one column to another rather than reducing it, and that the broader fiscal picture facing the city continues to deteriorate across every measurable dimension. Audio here.
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
Full interview and summary linked here.
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Makes sense geographically to have data centers here network-wise. It also makes sense because Illinois does have reliable nuclear energy. Winter also reduces cooling costs for much of the year. Warehousing, logistics and now data centers, good fits for Illinois. Too bad they canned the Illini tollway, or logistics would really be booming.
I hope we’ll generate enough power to keep those servers running.
Deep state data center. Super.