Proposed Chicago data center pause has taxpayer implications

Audio By Carbonatix

(The Center Square) – Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson says he is committed to instituting a moratorium on data center development, but an industry advocate says the move will cost the city property tax revenue, union jobs and investments in clean energy.

After Johnson and three aldermen proposed a one-year pause on new data center development or expansion, the mayor said a corporate-aligned member of city council sent the ordinance to the rules committee instead of having it discussed by a joint committee of zoning and environment.

“I remain committed to instituting this moratorium so that we can set strong standards to protect our communities and the environment,” Johnson said.

Brad Tietz, director of state government affairs - Midwest for the Data Center Coalition, said Chicago will never be a significant hub for large-scale data center development.

“So it's a bit perplexing to us as to why you would shut the door for a year and send the signal to this industry that creates significant property taxes,” Tietz told The Center Square.

Johnson’s office has projected a budget deficit of $882.4 million for 2027.

Tietz said, in suburban Elk Grove Village, data centers generate four to six times more property tax revenue than traditional properties.

Tietz said a moratorium would also prevent long-term construction opportunities for union workers.

“The mayor claims to care about union work. He's impacting it with this. And on the clean energy side, 84% of the renewable purchases done nationally in the first half of 2025 were done by the data center industries,” Tietz said.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker said he does not want to stop data centers from being built, but he is not opposed to local moves like Johnson is proposing for Chicago.

“They have the ability to do that, and they should if they don't want one in their communities. There are places that want them,” Pritzker said in Monee on Thursday.

When asked if his administration had assessed the risk of potential litigation against a moratorium, Johnson said his team is constantly assessing how policy it puts forward can withstand any legal challenges.