Chicago Tribune Editorial Board
Illinois experiencing higher electric bills directly translated from datacenter electricity consumption
Chicago Quantum Park
Locals rallied against a Chicago quantum park development and the company committed to not including a data center. It is reported, as reported August 21, 2026.
How much power it needs, how much water it would use and who would use it have not been disclosed.
How to read this page. Every fact links to the source it rests on; a number in brackets is its place in the source list. A figure no source gives reads Not disclosed, and nothing is estimated. Where sources give different figures, each is shown with who gave it, and another source's figure never stands in for the record's own. Entries are added and never overwritten; corrections are listed under What happened.
What is known
Each figure as its source gave it. The number in brackets is its place in the source list.
- Land
- Not disclosed
- Power it would draw
- Not disclosed
- Water
- Not disclosed
- Who leads it
- Not disclosed
- Who would use it
- Not disclosed
- Jobs once it runs
- Not disclosed
- Tax each year
- Not disclosed
Every field, with who said it and when (Researcher view)
Impact figures
| Field | Value | Who says so | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How much power it needs | Not disclosed | |||
| How much water it would use | Not disclosed | |||
| How loud it would be | Not disclosed | |||
| Jobs once it runs | Not disclosed | |||
| Tax it would pay each year | Not disclosed |
The record's fields
| Field | Value | Who says so | Source | Last verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who is building it | Not disclosed | |||
| Who is constructing it | Not disclosed | |||
| How much land | Not disclosed | |||
| Where its power comes from | Not disclosed | |||
| Grid connection | Not disclosed | |||
| How it is cooled | Not disclosed |
The developer's figure is what the company said; what a permit allows is the ceiling a permit sets; measured means observed. Water is in gallons a day or a year, whichever the source stated; a tax claim given as a range shows both ends, each linked to the source that gave it.
Still not public, and where it would show up
The record adds each the day a source gives it. Why these documents.
- Water useA state water right filing or a water supply agreement.
- Who would use itA lease announcement or a tenant named in a filing.
- Power the campus would drawA utility or public service commission docket, an interconnection filing, or an air permit for an on site plant.
- Who is behind itA land record, a zoning application or a company's own announcement.
- Jobs and taxAn incentive agreement, a county's economic development filing or a fiscal note.
What was decided
Acts of Cook County and Chicago about data centers, on the record with their source. A rule about the area is not a decision about this record.
| Date | Who | Decision | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announces a city wide temporary moratorium on data center development and expansion for 12 months while the city develops a comprehensive regulatory framework | talkingpointsmemo.com | |
| Chicago | Mayor Johnson's executive order last month called for a moratorium while the city develops a regulatory framework for data centers | yahoo.com | |
| Chicago | Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and aldermen Maria Hadden, Leni Manaa Hoppenworth and Lamont Robinson introduced an ordinance to pause data center development and material expansion for one year | yahoo.com | |
| Chicago | Chicago executive order provided for enhanced evaluation of air pollution control permits, data center specific noise rules, and cross departmental review process for planned developments including data centers | thecentersquare.com | |
| Chicago | Mayor Brandon Johnson issued an executive order last month to regulate data centers and called on the city council to pass a moratorium on new data centers | thecentersquare.com | |
| Cicero | Chicagoland suburbs suing data center companies; Cicero mobilizing legal challenge to Digital Realty Hawthorne development | therealdeal.com |
15 earlier decisions on the county's rows
| Date | Who | Decision | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago | Mayor Johnson called for a temporary moratorium on new data centers | springfieldnewssun.com | |
| Chicago | Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order creating stricter data center regulations and oversight | springfieldnewssun.com | |
| Cook County | More than a dozen data centers near O'Hare airport received local property tax breaks in 2026. | abc7chicago.com | |
| Cicero | Cicero trustees passed a resolution opposing data center development at Hawthorne in neighboring Stickney | chicago.suntimes.com | |
| Stickney | Stickney board of trustees voted unanimously to block any data center proposals with a moratorium on zoning changes and approvals for data centers | chicago.suntimes.com | |
| Cook County | Mayor Brandon Johnson was pressured by anti data center activists at a rally | chicagotribune.com | |
| Chicago | The working group report recommended the city create a new program for issuing noise and air pollution permits and enhancing environmental review | news.wttw.com | |
| Chicago | A city working group on sustainable data centers spent over a year and a half developing recommendations, with report released in July 2026 | news.wttw.com | |
| Chicago | Mayor Brandon Johnson issued an executive order calling on Chicago City Council to pause new data center construction | news.wttw.com | |
| Chicago | Chicago City Council voted near unanimously on an ordinance incentivizing data center development | news.wttw.com | |
| Cook County | Mayor Brandon Johnson pushed new rules and moratorium on new data centers | axios.com | |
| Chicago | Mayor Brandon Johnson called for a temporary moratorium on data centers | cbsnews.com | |
| Chicago | Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order for stricter data center regulations | cbsnews.com | |
| Hoffman Estates | Karis Critical withdrew rezoning request for data center in Hoffman Estates | datacenterdynamics.com | |
| Hoffman Estates | Developer withdrew rezoning request for data center in Hoffman Estates | capitolnewsillinois.com |
What happened
-
(source date; the content gives no date of its own)
Allimac 2023 LLC, identified as Digital Realty, agreed to acquire Hawthorne Race Course for $90 million, with sale expected to close September 1, 2026 [1]
-
· Status: rumored (source date; the content gives no date of its own)
Hawthorne Race Course, a 100+ acre site at 3501 S. Laramie Ave. in Stickney, closed after 135 years of horse racing, with last races on July 19, 2026 [1]
The full Chicago Quantum Park timeline, in order
2 corrections to this record
Every correction, with its reason
-
· the summary of a record items row
the record's rules: the sentence copied its source, was about its headline or carried a number the card's facts do not; written again from the card's facts, on the editor's word The old and new text.
-
· the kind of source of a history entry
The source was labeled with the Google News search that found it; it now carries its outlet's tier (the record's rules of 2026-09-23). The link did not change. The day's label corrections.
Every correction on the record is on the corrections page.
What was said
Mitch Milenkovic, Mayor of Stickney, stated opposition to a data center at Hawthorne Race Course, citing water and power demand, noise, and nuisances
Brad Tietz, state policy director of the Data Center Coalition, said he is hopeful the mayor's directive will separate responsible water and energy stewards from those who are not
Every statement about data centers in Illinois, by speaker
15 more statements on this page
Chicago resident
Austin Child said build data centers only in communities where median home price is above $3 million, make them build their own power source not connected to public grid, give no tax breaks, and enact strict environmental protections.
Chicago resident
Christine Bock said if data centers make money they should pay their own way with no corporate tax benefits, discounts, or dumping.
Chicago resident
Adam Agosto said if data centers can supply their own power to regulatory spec they could be built but must address infrastructural and environmental concerns and taxpayers and ComEd customers should not bear any costs.
Chicago resident
David Mansfield said data centers need to be built but there needs to be better methodology for where and how.
Chicago resident
Alyce Langreder Garcia said data centers should not be built, especially in heavily populated areas, and statistics are coming in about adverse impacts on wildlife, people, businesses, communities and natural resources.
Chicago resident
Drew Pekala said we need to keep up with the rest of the world and that if we don't build data centers then we fall behind as a society and as a country.
Chicago resident
Sergio Antonio Cueto Tellez asked how people can think data centers are OK when natural resources are becoming scarce.
Chicago resident
Deborah Bullwinkel said Great Lakes are at risk of depletion and pollution, electricity rates will skyrocket, and data centers cause noise, light, air and water pollution, ruin wetlands and kill wildlife, and negatively impact property values.
Chicago resident
Tim Patterson said data centers should not be done and that Chicago needs to build something that will make life better for Chicagoans such as fixing deferred infrastructure maintenance instead.
Brandon Johnson, Mayor of Chicago, asked the City Council to pass a moratorium on data center facilities
Mayor of Chicago
Mayor Johnson said Chicago will not be passively shaped by the data center industry and will actively set the terms for how technological development occurs
Angela Tovar, commissioner of Chicago's Department of Environment, said current policies do not reflect what modern data centers look like
Jared Patton, project manager at Chicago's Department of Environment, said the city wants to develop recommendations thoughtful about local context rather than copying other areas
FOX Chicago
Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park focuses on quantum technology
The site
Where in Cook County is not in the public record. The pin marks the county seat, not a building, and the outline is the county.
Tap a pin for the data center, the parcel for its record
- This record: Proposed, ringed
- data center
- Dashed edge: the exact site is not in the public record
- Smaller pins: 26 other published records in Illinois
Details
- this record's location, ringed
- parcel outline, from the county parcel record
- city limits, U.S. Census Bureau, on a town level record
- county boundary
The other pins are the published projects in the same state, each in its stage color. The imagery beneath is the USGS national orthoimagery, public domain, shown so the land around the site can be read.
- Where
- Chicago, Cook County, Illinois
- How exactly it is located
- County level, the county seat
- The parcel
- No parcel outline in the public record
- Nearest homes
- Not computed for a record placed at a place center
- Nearest records
- Nearest records are not computed for a record placed at a county seat.
Questions about this project
4 questions answered from the record
Who is building Chicago Quantum Park?
-
Not disclosed. No source on file names the developer. The sources read for this record are listed under Sources.
How much power and water does Chicago Quantum Park say it needs?
-
Power: not disclosed by any source on file. Water: not disclosed by any source on file.
Where does Chicago Quantum Park stand today?
-
It is reported, as reported August 21, 2026. The newest entry, reported August 21, 2026: Allimac 2023 LLC, identified as Digital Realty, agreed to acquire Hawthorne Race Course for $90 million, with sale expected to close September 1, 2026 [1].
What has Chicago or Cook County decided about it?
-
Chicago: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson announces a city wide temporary moratorium on data center development and expansion for 12 months while the city develops a comprehensive regulatory framework (reported September 23, 2026, source); and Chicago: Mayor Johnson's executive order last month called for a moratorium while the city develops a regulatory framework for data centers (reported September 23, 2026, source). 21 events are on the county's rows; a rule about the area is not a decision about this record.
Sources
Reporting
- Stickney mayor, board oppose data center at Hawthorne horse racing site - chicago.suntimes.com, chicago.suntimes.com, August 21, 2026, local outlet
- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker moves to pause new agreements for data center tax incentives - ABC7 Chicago, ABC7 Chicago, June 5, 2026, local outlet
- Locals rally against Chicago quantum park; company commits to no data center - thecentersquare.com, thecentersquare.com, August 17, 2026, local outlet
3 sources on file.
Cite this record
Data Center Record, "Chicago Quantum Park", https://datacenterrecord.org/projects/chicago-quantum-park-il, last verified September 17, 2026.
Cite this page
Data Center Record, "Chicago Quantum Park", https://datacenterrecord.org/projects/chicago-quantum-park-il. Data: Data Center Record, datacenterrecord.org, CC BY 4.0.
The structured rows are CC BY 4.0. Link to this page; that is what turns a reuse into a citation. Prose stays under copyright.
For researchers
- Slug
- chicago-quantum-park-il
- Status value
- rumored
- Stage
- Proposed
- Tier
- skeleton
- Tags
- skeleton
- Place id
- us/il/cook-county/chicago
- Coordinates
- 41.88194, -87.62778
- Location precision
- county
- Location source
- County seat (Chicago), Wikidata, placed at county level
- Coordinate source
- wikidata county seat
- Location source number
- Not disclosed
- Location last verified
- September 16, 2026
- EPA registry id
- Not disclosed
- Use type values
- not_disclosed
- Tenancy value
- not_disclosed
- Cooling type value
- not_disclosed
- Capacity basis
- not_disclosed
- Water basis
- not_disclosed, gallons_per_day
- Acreage basis
- Not disclosed
- Interconnection value
- not_disclosed
- Capacity, if disclosed
- Not disclosed
- Rating of the county's rows
- Not disclosed
- Published
- 2026-09-04
- Last verified
- 2026-09-17