PEKIN, Ill. – Pekin City Hall was overflowing Monday night with people opposed to a proposed data center.
The city council’s chambers, as well as the hallways of city hall, were filled with those against the plan to build the data center on the former Lutticken farm property.
City leaders have said the proposal would bring more jobs and revenues to Pekin, but firm details about the plan have not been finalized yet. Both the city and the company behind the data center are in the middle of studies on the proposal.
13 people spoke for more than 50 minutes in total about their opposition during the public comment portion of the meeting. One of those was Mark Stephens, Jr.
“I urge though, with caution, to recommend that the city not prioritize large-scale data centers that would consume scarce electricity, water, and other community resources in exchange for an uncertain, and often overstated, property tax benefit,” Stephens Jr. said.
Stephens, Jr. also urged the council to commission independent fiscal and resource impact studies on the project, as well as full cost guarantees from developers and businesses, and limiting or even denying tax abatements.
Others who spoke during public comment raised their concerns about negative impacts on the environment, vibrations and noise pollution from the data center, and even citing studies that say few permanent jobs would be created by the data center.
There were a few interactions and responses to the public comments by Mayor Mary Burress and other city staffers, with all being polite and cordial. Burress told those at the meeting that the city plans to check every box about the project.
“We are doing our due diligence, and we expect that company to do their due diligence as well,” Burress said.
A town hall on the proposal was announced for March 24th.
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