Joliet City Council Public Meeting

WHAT WE ARE ASKING YOU TO DO
Citizens Against Ruining the Environment (CARE), a local 501(c)(3) registered nonprofit group staffed entirely by volunteers, is against the rampant and unquestioned development of data centers across the country. Energy consumption, environmental impacts, human health risks, and questionable economic benefits are at the top of the list of concerns.

Attend the Joliet City Council public meeting on March 16 to voice your opposition to the proposed construction of a data center campus in Joliet/Elwood.

DETAILS
Hillwood is a multinational real estate and land development company based in Texas. The company has submitted a proposal to the City of Joliet to build a data center campus on 795 acres of farmland east of Chicagoland Speedway, known as Bernhard Farms. On March 5, 2026, the Joliet City Council Planning Committee approved the data center proposal. The proposal goes up for a final vote by the full Joliet City Council on March 16, 2026.

Complete information/documents regarding the proposed data center can be found at the City of Joliet’s website. View a specific list of FAQs prepared by the City of Joliet.

IMPACTS
The Community – Residents of Joliet and Elwood, local wildlife and lost farmland.

Your Wallet – Data centers consume enormous amounts of electricity and water to power and cool their systems. Thus far, the pattern across the country has been to start passing the costs down to other local utility customers.

The Environment – Data centers will severely stress local water supplies, pollute the air with diesel-fueled generators in place for backup power, and are extremely loud for the people who live closest to them.

Public Health – Stress on natural resources, increased pollution and high noise levels will harm public health, in particular impacting children, residents whose health is already impaired, and seniors.

You always deserve a voice in what happens in and to your community!

You can also sign a petition here to speak out against the proposed data center project in Joliet/Elwood.