Feb 09, 2026 | Posted by Eric Bell
The Chicago Tribune cited Baxtel in an investigation of the tensions surrounding data center development in Illinois. According to the article, Illinois currently has 108 data centers, nearly twice as many as Indiana and Wisconsin combined.
Yet industry groups warn the state is losing billions in new investment to neighbors, in part because of Illinois's Biometric Information Privacy Act. Reporters John Lippert and R. Christian Smith detail how local conflicts in Aurora, Naperville, and DeKalb County are compounding the regulatory uncertainty facing operators considering the Illinois market.
