tech
February 18, 2026
Illinois governor proposes cancelling tax breaks for datacenters
Pritzker’s move reflects increasing public pushback against resource-hungry facilities used to power the AI boom
TL;DR
- Illinois Governor JB Pritzker proposed a two-year pause on new datacenter tax credits.
- The proposal aims to address growing public backlash against resource-intensive datacenters powering the AI boom.
- Pritzker wants datacenter developers to bear the additional costs of their power demands, urging PJM to mandate this.
- Concerns about datacenters' impact on nearby residents and resource drain are increasing globally.
- Illinois has been active in AI-related legislation, including laws on replicas, artists' rights, and deepfakes.
- Other states like Georgia and Oklahoma are also considering or have proposed moratoriums on new datacenters.
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