Illinois Quick Hits: Chicago data center moratorium ordinance proposed
Regional News
Audio By Carbonatix
3:30 PM on Wednesday, September 23
Jim Talamonti
(The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson and three city council members have introduced an ordinance that would pause the development of new data centers and the material expansion of existing facilities for one year.
The proposal follows the mayor’s executive order last month that called for a moratorium while the city develops a regulatory framework for data centers.
Johnson introduced the ordinance with Aldermen Maria Hadden, Leni Manaa-Hoppenworth and Lamont Robinson.
MUNDELEIN TEACHER ARRESTED FOR ALLEGED SECRET RECORDING OF STUDENTS
After a Mundelein public school teacher and coach was arrested on Tuesday and charged with unauthorized video recording of a juvenile, state Senator Darby Hills, R-Barrington Hills, renewed her push for Senate Bill 2381.
Hills said the bill would close a gap in Illinois law that allows individuals convicted of sexually motivated, unauthorized recordings of minors to avoid sex offender registration.
Dagoberto Diaz, 48, a teacher at Carl Sandburg Middle School and junior varsity girls volleyball coach at Mundelein High School, was released after he appeared in court on Wednesday.
METH DEALER GETS 15 YEARS
A Markham, Illinois man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for distribution of methamphetamine.
Prosecutors said Orlando Dampier, 47, engaged in multiple pound sales of methamphetamine in late 2025 and was arrested in January 2026.
The Rock Island Police Department investigated the case with help from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ACTIVITY INDEX DIPS
The Chicago Fed Survey of Economic Conditions Activity Index decreased to –5 in September from +5 in August, suggesting that economic growth was near trend.
The CFSEC is a survey of organizations located in the Seventh District, which includes parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan and Wisconsin.
POPE RECALLS SHEEN AHEAD OF BEATIFICATION IN ST. LOUIS
A beatification Mass for Illinois native and former Catholic Archbishop Fulton Sheen is scheduled to take place on Thursday in St. Louis.
Sheen was born in 1895 in El Paso, Illinois, served as an altar boy in Peoria and studied at St. Viator College in Bourbonnais. He later became a bishop and hosted national radio and television programs.
Pope Leo XIV, a fellow Illinois native, discussed Sheen during his general audience in Rome on Wednesday.
The pontiff expressed the hope that Sheen would inspire many others to find new ways of spreading the gospel message with joyful enthusiasm.
