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Logan County Board
March Zoning and Economic Development Committee Meeting
[March 03, 2026]
On Monday, March 2nd, the
Zoning and Economic Development Committee of the larger Logan County
Board held their monthly meeting in the first floor courtroom of the
Logan County Courthouse and was attended by three of the five
committee members. Present were Chairman Michael DeRoss, Joseph
Kuhlman, and Bob Sanders. Absent were Vice Chairman Kathy Schmidt
and Hannah Fitzpatrick.
The committee started by quickly approving the minutes from their
previous month’s meeting before moving on to new business. There
were only two items under new business, and even though both were
about data centers, the meeting did come to an end quickly.
The first item on the agenda was regarding amendments made to the
proposed ordinance on data centers. DeRoss stated that the complaint
resolution in section 20 was new. He also stated that sections 21
and 22 were bigger additions to the draft ordinance.
Before the meeting, DeRoss shared the draft ordinance with LDN.
Sections 21 and 22 have to do with insurance and liability and
decommissioning, respectively. DeRoss spoke more on section 21,
stating that there was environmental liability language added. The
three big portions of this section state that any company building a
data center in Logan County will have to provide proof of
environmental insurance, the county must be named on the policy, and
the amount of the policy will be determined by a professional hired
by the county.
Kuhlman then asked about a self-monitoring program. He stated that
the ordinance sets a complaint policy, but nothing about how the
companies must monitor that they are following all parts of the
ordinance. DeRoss suggested requiring monthly tests, saying that
these results could be included in any data center’s annual report
to the county.
With none of the three committee
members making any comments, DeRoss opened the floor to the public.
There were several members of the public present, most of whom had
questions.
The first speaker wanted to know about chemicals. He stated that
data centers use “forever chemicals” that can leach into the ground
and wanted to know who would take care of that. DeRoss stated that
he was not sure about forever chemicals and that is what section 21
of the ordinance would be for. He continued that he thinks data
centers usually use glycol but asked the gentleman to provide the
names of the chemicals he was worried about so the committee can
look into them. Zoning and Economic Development Officer Al Green
also stated that many chemicals that could impact environments are
usually set by the state EPA.
The next gentleman wanted to know about the exact location and
dimensions of the proposed Hut 8 data center. DeRoss stated that the
committee does not yet have this exact information themselves. He
clarified that the draft ordinance they were working on that evening
was “all inclusive,” not for any one specific data center. DeRoss
also clarified that they were not voting on approving the ordinance
that evening. They would be sending it on to State’s Attorney Brad
Hauge, then on to the Zoning Board of Appeals for public hearings,
and then it would come back to them for a vote.
The woman who spoke brought up something DeRoss had mentioned
earlier. DeRoss had made a comment about no one on the board being
an expert in data centers. She wanted to know how the board knows
they are doing a good job with the ordinance. DeRoss stated that he
thought they were doing a good job and that he had been doing “more
research on data centers than I care to say.”
A motion was then made to send this draft ordinance on to the
State’s Attorney, and it was supported by all three committee
members.
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The second and
final item under new business was regarding bringing on a
professional to do a study about the Hut 8 data center. This
study would be for things such as the environmental impacts, as
well as the impact the data center would have on the local
electrical grid. DeRoss shared that he had sent many requests
for suggestions on professionals, and he kept getting the name
Greg Pruitt. He stated that Pruitt was the one who had done a
similar study for Sangamon County. He also stated that Pruitt’s
rate would be $250 per hour and would expect it not to exceed
$10,000.
Green asked if it was going to be a county wide study, as they do
not have an official parcel of land yet. DeRoss stated that he would
have to do the study on “that site,” but did not give context to
exactly where that site would be. Hut 8 has given a general idea of
where the proposed data center would be, about two miles west of
Latham.
DeRoss then went on to state what Pruitt’s study would cover. Among
other things, DeRoss shared that Pruitt would meet with parties to
address concerns, meet with the developers of the project, and study
energy related impacts. DeRoss added that Pruitt would do a water
impact study.
He then suggested that the committee present the suggestion to the
board, with a minimum six week period for public engagement. The
committee members agreed with the motion, and it was passed on to
the Workshop meeting later in March.
Next, DeRoss spoke briefly on the county’s battery storage
ordinance. He stated that the state has “emasculated” any county’s
attempt at regulating battery storage. He also said that, with few
exceptions, battery storage facilities can be placed on almost any
land zoned agricultural.
Green gave his Zoning Officer Report. He said that the majority of
their time has been working on the battery storage ordinance.
However, he did add that there were several permit applications
submitted for roof solar projects and ground mount solar projects,
as well as a car port and a house.
DeRoss next spoke on a potential bill being reviewed at the Illinois
Congress. The bill, DeRoss said, seems to be coming out of
committee. He stated that it would freeze property taxes. If this
passes, DeRoss said, the committee would have to “regroup and
retool.”
DeRoss then opened the floor for public comments. The first comment
was from someone who was in support of the Hut 8 data center. He
stated that he would like to see the land changed to industrial and
that it may bring more high energy infrastructure to the area.
The next speaker stated that JB Pritzker announced that no data
center would pay taxes for 15 years. She continued that no large
projects would pay property taxes for the same period. She stated
that anything purchased relating to data centers is exempt from
sales tax.
DeRoss stated that, while the bill she was referring to does impact
taxes, it does allow for PILOTs. According to DeRoss, PILOTs
(payments in lieu of taxes) would allow counties more authority to
local tax districts and how they are divvyed up.
The final comment was from a woman who wanted to remind the board
that the people of Latham would be the ones paying for the data
center and doing the “suffering.”
After this final comment, the meeting was adjourned.
[Matt Boutcher]
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