SZALINSKI’S SUMMARY: Illinois committed an estimated $666.6 million in tax credits to data center projects through 2025, according to an annual Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity report. The agreement, which spans periods up to 20 years, were inked before Gov. JB Pritzker directed the department to pause processing new data center incentives beginning Wednesday.
WHY IT MATTERS: Data centers are under intense public scrutiny for a variety of reasons, including how much space they occupy, resources they use and even the noise they make. Illinois lawmakers are debating new regulations, but the report shows the state has already committed hundreds of millions of dollars in credits since 2020.
Data center tax incentives were included in a bipartisan law Pritzker signed in his first year in office as part of the only budget that garnered Republican support in his two-term tenure…