ROCHELLE — The Rochelle City Council tabled a development agreement with Midwest Power Investors LLC for a proposed data center north of Steward Road and near Interstate 88. City officials said the agreement outlined a phased project that includes electrical upgrades, water and sewer infrastructure, and roadway improvements, with Midwest Power Investors funding much of the construction costs. The agreement allowed for up to 48 megawatts of power in Phase I, with potential future expansions requiring additional agreements. Officials said even though the project was expected to generate new revenue for Rochelle Municipal Utilities and support infrastructure improvements, it wouldn’t bring more residents to Rochelle.
Megan Sneyd, a Rochelle resident, spoke out against the data center Monday night.
“In the past few years, there has been a mad dash throughout northern Illinois along the I-88 corridor to construct these data centers. From these existing projects, we can see that the economic claims that are in support of the development don’t necessarily come to fruition,” she said.
Mayor John Bearrows raised concerns that residents brought up to him about future development beyond Phase 1, including Phase 2 and Phase 3
“The flip side of that is we have our own power company, and I’m gonna tell you folks, if we start using up, we’re limited with the power that we can get here. And that’s not because of Rochelle Municipal Utilities, it’s because of the transmission lines,” he said.
The City Council voted 4-3 to revisit the proposal at a future meeting.
Mayor John Bearrows, Tom McDermott, and Dan McDermott voted against tabling the proposal, while Hayes, Valdivieso, Shaw-Dickey and Arteaga chose to postpone the decision.
Mayor Bearrows noted he didn’t like “kicking the can down the road” because he had a good feel for how the council felt about the project.