Proposed bill would require Illinois high schools to offer voter registration

Named after the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, the act aims to increase youth voter registration

BY AMY L. WONG
Medill Illinois News Bureau
news@capitolnewsillinois.com 

Article Summary

• A proposed bill that would require every Illinois high school to provide students with a chance to register to vote by the time they graduate passed a House committee unanimously this week. 

• The lead sponsor of the legislation, state Rep. Kimberly Du Buclet, said she was partly inspired by the legacy of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson. 

• Nonprofits such as Illinois Collaboration on Youth and Chicago Votes strongly support the bill. 

• Critics raise concerns about potential administrative burden on schools. 

This summary was written by the reporter and editors who worked on this story.

CHICAGO — A proposed bill bearing the name of the late Rev. Jesse Jackson would require high schools to offer a voter registration opportunity for all eligible students graduating from Illinois high schools.

House Bill 4339, also known as the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. Young Voter Empowerment Act,  had 28 co-sponsors, all Democrats, when it cleared the House Ethics and Elections Committee unanimously on March 18.The lead sponsor, state Rep. Kimberly Du Buclet, D-Chicago, said the bill is intended to increase youth voter registration rates. 

“This bill is nonpartisan, meaning it’s not about picking a party or picking a candidate. It’s just about getting people involved,” Du Buclet said. “It’s not about Democrats, it’s not about Republicans. It’s just giving our students the information and helping them get registered to vote early.”

Du Buclet said she plans to speak to Republicans to see if she can gain bipartisan support. 

But some in the GOP said the party is reluctant to add more unfunded mandates to school districts. Rep. Jeff Keicher, R-Sycamore, said in an interview he also thought the act was “somewhat duplicative” since Illinois provides an opportunity for everyone to register to vote when they visit driver’s service facilities for their license.   

“All I hear from schools on a bipartisan basis is ‘stop with the mandates,’” Keicher said. “‘We need to teach kids and you keep throwing additional things on our plate.’”

The measure does not provide funding or any guidelines for its implementation, leaving some to worry that school districts could make registration drives partisan.

Keicher added he’s not sure the bill would affect turnout.  

“I’m a firm believer in voting and registering to vote,” he said. “I think everybody who is legally registered should vote, but our problem is turnout, not registration.” 

According to a Tufts study released in April 2025, 41% of Illinoisans aged 18-29 voted in the 2024 presidential election. Nationally, Illinois ranks on the lower end for voters participating from that age group, with Minnesota at the highest at 62% and Oklahoma at the lowest with 33%. 

A companion bill in the Senate, Senate Bill 1786, is awaiting a committee vote. 

Support for the Bill

Chicago Votes, a nonpartisan nonprofit, supports the act. Frederique Desrosiers, the policy and advocacy director at Chicago Votes, said a strength of the legislation is that it applies to all of Illinois, which addresses some of the gaps in voter engagement efforts. 

“One of the reasons why I think this bill is so important is because a lot of times voter registration efforts focus … on downtown Lakeshore campuses, and a lot of times young people who live on the South and West Sides aren’t really folded into the conversation and not really encouraged and engaged,” Desrosiers said.

Franklin Hughes, a freshman at Dominican University and a student leader at Chicago Votes, said he supports the act and emphasized the importance of high schools offering students a chance to register to vote on school grounds. 

“Voting is a gateway to having a voice in decisions that impact young people’s lives, and yet, many of us want to engage and don’t always know how or when, and that’s why it’s so important that schools and youth spaces become trusted places,” Hughes said. “This bill meets young people where we already are and gives us a real pathway to participate in our democracy.”

Read more: High schoolers flood state Capitol to advocate for drug abuse prevention bills 

Andrea Durbin, Chief Executive Officer at Illinois Collaboration on Youth, said that if the youth do not vote, those in power may not prioritize their needs since voting is a method for constituents to communicate their concerns. 

“We need to make sure, especially if young people are exercising that right and that power, (that) if they flex that muscle, people will pay attention,” she said. 

Rev. Jesse Jackson’s Legacy

Jackson, who died on Feb. 17, was a national voice for civil and voting rights and a civic leader based in Chicago for six decades. In 1972, Jackson organized voter registration drives and encouraged Black Americans to vote. 

Former Presidents Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Bill Clinton attended his public memorial in early March. Obama said during his speech that Jackson helped create the political climate for what would be the future president’s campaign success. 

“It was because of that path that he had laid, because of his courage, his audacity, that two decades later, a young Black senator from Chicago’s South Side would even be taken seriously as a candidate of the presidential nomination,” Obama said.

Du Buclet said Jackson’s advocacy for youth voter registration and legacy in the civil rights movement encouraged her to sponsor the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. Young Voter Empowerment Act. 

“The Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr. was such a trailblazer in fighting for voting rights, particularly for children, for young people,” Du Buclet said. “One of the things that was his vision was that students graduated with a diploma in one hand and a voter registration card in the other hand. That was part of my inspiration for the bill, just to try and fulfill his vision and keep the voting rights vision and efforts going forward.”

Amy L. Wong is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, and fellows in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. 

State Rep. Kimberly Du Buclet is the lead sponsor of the Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. Young Voter Empowerment Act requiring high schools to offer voter registration. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Jerry Nowicki)

Lawyers say D.C. court’s decision striking down large-capacity magazine ban should be applied to Illinois

Raoul’s office argues a federal appeals court isn’t bound by the decision

By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com

Story Summary

• An appellate court in Washington, D.C., struck down a law in the district that banned large-capacity magazines, and lawyers challenging a similar law in Illinois say the appellate court should take the decision into account.   

•  Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office argues the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals is not bound by decisions of the D.C. court, which is similar to a state’s supreme court.

• At issue before the 7th Circuit is a constitutional challenge to the Protect Illinois Communities Act, a sweeping ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. 

SPRINGFIELD — A recent decision from a local appellate court in Washington, D.C., striking down a ban on large-capacity magazines could have an impact on a pending case challenging a similar ban in Illinois.

In a memo filed March 11 with the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, lawyers for the gun industry asked a three-judge panel hearing the Illinois challenge to consider the case of Tyree Benson. His conviction for violating a local ordinance banning large-capacity magazines was recently overturned by the Washington, D.C., Court of Appeals on Second Amendment grounds.

But Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s office responded Wednesday, arguing the 7th Circuit is not bound by decisions of the D.C. court — the equivalent of a state supreme court. It also described the Benson decision as an “outlier that conflicts with every other appellate court to have addressed the issue.”

At issue before the 7th Circuit is a constitutional challenge to the Protect Illinois Communities Act, or PICA, a sweeping ban on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines. 

Illinois lawmakers passed that ban during a lame duck session in January 2023 following a mass shooting the previous summer at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park that left seven people dead and dozens more injured or traumatized.

The convicted gunman in that shooting used a Smith & Wesson M&P15 semiautomatic rifle and multiple 30-round magazines.

In November 2024, a federal judge in East St. Louis sided with gun rights advocates and the gun industry and struck down the Illinois law as unconstitutional. The state has appealed that decision to the 7th Circuit, which heard oral arguments in September but has not yet rendered a decision. The law remains in effect while the appeal is pending.

Many legal observers say the case is likely to end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never issued a definitive ruling on assault weapons bans. The court did, however, deny requests to issue preliminary injunctions blocking the law from being enforced while legal challenges proceeded.

Shifting standards

In other Second Amendment cases in recent years, the court has taken a more expansive view of the right to bear arms and has been broadly skeptical of state and local laws that seek to limit that right.

In 2008, the court ruled in District of Columbia v. Heller that the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to bear arms, as opposed to a collective societal right to maintain a militia. In striking down an ordinance banning the possession of handguns in the district, the court also said the Second Amendment protection extends to “all instruments that constitute bearable arms, even those that were not in existence at the time of the founding.”

More recently, in 2022’s New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen decision, the court went further by saying the Second Amendment gives all Americans the right to bear “commonly used” arms in public. It also said that to pass constitutional muster, a law limiting the right to bear arms had to be “consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.”

Benson decision

In the case of Tyree Benson, the Washington, D.C., court ruled 2-1 that magazines of any capacity are “arms” covered by the Second Amendment. It also said large-capacity magazines in particular “are ubiquitous in our country, numbering in the hundreds of millions, accounting for about half of the magazines in the hands of our citizenry, and they come standard with the most popular firearms sold in America today.”

Erin Murphy, an attorney for a firm representing several plaintiffs in the Illinois case, argued in the memo that the popularity of large-capacity magazines put them in the same category as handguns, which the Supreme Court said in the Heller decision could not be banned.

But Assistant Attorney General Megan Brown argued in a reply memo that relying on the popularity of a particular weapon or device to determine whether it’s constitutionally protected represented a kind of circular logic that the 7th Circuit rejected when it denied a motion to block enforcement of the assault weapons ban in 2023.

The 7th Circuit has not indicated when it intends to issue a decision.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. 

Companies could be on the hook for work-related activities before and after shifts start, court rules

Companies could be on the hook for work-related activities before and after shifts start, court rules

The Illinois Supreme Court ruled state wage law does not include certain federal exclusions 

Article Summary

• Illinois’ wage law does not include federal exclusions that would shield companies from having to pay employees for pre-and post-shift activities, the state high court ruled.

• The ruling is based on a civil suit brought against Amazon by two former employees after they were not compensated for pre-shift health screenings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Amazon argued the court should follow federal regulations, but the employees said they were entitled to compensation because state law does not include those regulations.

• The case will now return to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

By JENNA SCHWEIKERT
Capitol News Illinois 
jschweikert@capitolnewsillinois.com 

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois law does not specifically shield companies from having to pay employees for time spent completing required pre- and post-work activities, the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled.

Although federal regulations exclude that requirement, the court found Illinois’ wage law does not include any similar provisions. That means employers could be required to compensate employees for required activities outside of the normal work day.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit asked the state’s high court to decide if state law includes the federal regulation found in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The question originates from a civil suit brought against Amazon by two former employees, although the court’s ruling is not an official ruling in that case. 

In the opinion, Justice David Overstreet wrote that the court’s goal was to determine the legislature’s intent at the time Illinois’ 1971 Minimum Wage law was enacted, emphasizing that the court aimed to adhere to the plain language of the law.

“We must refrain from departing from the statute’s plain language by reading into it exceptions, limitations, or conditions that conflict with the express language of the statute,” Overstreet wrote. 

Justice Overstreet delivered the court’s opinion, with Chief Justice P. Scott Neville and Justices Lisa Holder White, Joy Cunningham, Elizabeth Rochford, and Mary O’Brien concurring. Justice Sanjay Tailor did not take part in the decision.

Johnson v. Amazon

In 2020, Amazon required its employees to complete 10-15-minute pre-shift health screenings to avoid transmission of COVID-19. Two employees, Lisa Johnson and Gale Miller Anderson, later sued the company in the Cook County circuit court, arguing they should have been compensated for that time under federal and state law. 

Amazon requested the case be moved to federal court in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and moved to dismiss the case, arguing they were not required to pay Johnson and Anderson based on federal exemptions for preliminary work activities in the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The federal court approved the dismissal under federal and state statutes, finding that federal law had frequently been used to interpret Illinois’ Minimum Wage Law. 

Johnson and Anderson appealed, this time arguing they were entitled to compensation only under state law, which does not include those federal exemptions. Amazon, in reply, said federal law supported the district court’s conclusion that the exclusions apply to state law.

The Seventh Circuit asked the Illinois Supreme Court to settle the question, who then found that Amazon could not rely on federal regulations to inform Illinois’ minimum wage law because the General Assembly chose not to include the specific exclusions on preliminary activities.

A plain reading of the law “reveals that the General Assembly did not signify any intention to incorporate the preliminary and postliminary activities exclusions,” Overstreet wrote, referencing a subsection of the wage law that includes a list of exceptions. 

“Notably, four of these exceptions incorporate by reference specific provisions of the FLSA, regulations of the United States Department of Labor (USDOL), or both,” Overstreet wrote. 

“The General Assembly delegated the authority to define ‘hours worked’ to IDOL (the Illinois Department of Labor). In turn IDOL adopted a definition of ‘hours worked’ that necessarily includes preliminary and postliminary activities, explicitly encompassing all time that an employee is required to be on an employer’s premises.”

The case will now return to the Seventh Circuit court. Pending that decision, or any action by the legislature, Illinois employers may soon have to compensate employees for that extra time spent preparing for a shift.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. 

The Illinois Supreme Court is pictured in Springfield. (Capitol News Illinois file photo)

‘Illinois farmers can feed Illinois’: State grant program offers assistance

With advocates estimating that as much as 95% of food consumed in Illinois is imported, a state program aims to support the local supply chain.

By REBECKA PIEDER
Medill Illinois News Bureau
news@capitolnewsillinois.com

ARTICLE SUMMARY:

• Illinois food producers and businesses can apply for a share of $3.6 million through the Illinois Department of Agriculture as part of a grant program to support local food infrastructure systems.

• Policymakers and advocates stress the importance of the program to support the critical infrastructure needed to facilitate local food systems.

• The deadline for applications is March 27, and applicants have to pre-register at the IDOA website.

SPRINGFIELD — Illinois food producers and businesses can apply for a share of $3.6 million in state grant funding through March 27 as part of a program to reduce Illinoisians’ reliance on food from out of state. 

The Local Food Infrastructure Grant program, through the Illinois Department of Agriculture, supports small agricultural operations and food producers working with cold storage, processing equipment, refrigerated transportation and distribution systems.

The grant program is currently open for applications, and applicants must complete a pre-registration before applying. Funds will be distributed in June.

Information on the application process can be found on the Department of Agriculture’s website.

The grant program is designed to support the infrastructure needed to make locally grown food more accessible in Illinois.

"When we say farm-to-home food, we forget about the critical infrastructure in between," Sen. David Koehler, D-Peoria, said in a release announcing this year’s funding. "This investment ensures that our food makes it from farm to local food processor and distribution safely and cleanly to your plates at home."

The Illinois Stewardship Alliance, a local food and farm advocacy group, administered the program in its first year in 2023. The idea for the legislation came after alliance members identified a lack of sufficient infrastructure to feed their surrounding communities, said Molly Pickering, policy director at the Illinois Stewardship Alliance.

“We believe Illinois farmers can feed Illinois, but we need programs and policies to support these farmers,” she said.

Policies like the Local Food Infrastructure Grant program benefit Illinois by removing barriers that keep local businesses from serving their communities, Pickering said.

“We know that in Illinois, 95% of the food that we eat is imported from out of state," she said. “That means every time we spend money on food, all that money is flowing to corporations and companies out of state. It's not staying in our communities. It's not being reinvested in our communities.” 

Following the passage of the Local Food Infrastructure Grant Act, the Illinois Department of Agriculture took over administration. The state appropriated $2 million in fiscal year 2025 to the Department of Agriculture to administer the grants, though the program faced implementation delays. The unused funds have been added to this year’s cycle.

"Local food doesn't move itself," Liz Moran Stelk, executive director of the Illinois Stewardship Alliance, which helped launch the program, said in a news release. "Farmers across Illinois are ready to meet growing demand for locally produced food, but they need the infrastructure to do it."

Here’s how the grants can help

Previous grant recipients have shown what that infrastructure can look like in practice. Sola Gratia Farm, a nonprofit farm in Urbana, used funding to purchase a refrigerated delivery van and processing equipment, allowing it to expand deliveries to schools, food pantries and neighborhood markets. 

In McLean County, Funks Grove Heritage Fruits & Grains invested in grain handling and processing equipment, improving product quality and reducing waste. Recipients have described how the grants made a huge difference in opening business opportunities.

“Everyone benefits when we empower our local farmers,” Sen. Doris Turner, D-Springfield, a supporter of the program, said in a news release. “By fortifying the food system, we are supporting our local farmers and mitigating food insecurity. This funding will expand access to fresh, local foods, strengthen the local economy and grow the food supply chain.”

The Illinois Stewardship Alliance is pushing for a more permanent funding solution, rather than relying on year-to-year appropriations. "That hasn't materialized yet, but we're going to keep advocating for that, and so are our members," Pickering said.

Rebecka Pieder is a graduate student in journalism with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Media and Integrated Marketing Communications, and is a fellow in its Medill Illinois News Bureau working in partnership with Capitol News Illinois.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Traci Barkley, director of Sola Gratia Farm, watches as staff load produce into the farm’s refrigerated delivery van, which was purchased with the support of funding from the Illinois’ Local Food Infrastructure Grant program. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Maggie Dougherty)

LOCAL STUDENTS EARN A RUNNING START TOWARD COLLEGE AT IECC

Olney, Ill. — High school seniors across southeastern Illinois who have already taken college classes or explored entrepreneurship while still in school will soon have another opportunity waiting for them after graduation.

 Through Illinois Eastern Community Colleges’ new Running Start program, eligible students who participated in dual credit courses or the CEO entrepreneurship program will receive a three-credit tuition waiver they can use for a class at IECC after graduating from high school.

 For some students, it could mean stepping back onto campus just weeks after graduation, this time as a college student continuing the path they began while still in high school.

 Vice Chancellor of Institutional Outreach and Lincoln Trail College President Tona Ambrose said the program was created to recognize the initiative students have already shown by beginning college-level coursework early.

 “Students who complete dual credit courses or participate in CEO are already demonstrating college and career readiness,” Ambrose said. “The Running Start program recognizes that effort and encourages them to keep their educational journey going.”

 Students may use the tuition waiver for any three-credit class within one year of graduating from high school. The flexibility allows students to explore different academic or career interests while continuing their education locally.

 For some graduates, that might mean enrolling in a summer class soon after graduation. For others, it could be the class that helps them explore a career field, complete a general education requirement, or take the first step toward a certificate or degree.

 Ambrose said the program builds on the success of IECC’s partnerships with high schools throughout the district.

 “The Running Start program extends the impact of our dual credit and CEO partnerships by creating a clear next step for students,” she said. “It strengthens the pipeline from high school directly into college.”

 The program also highlights the collaborative work IECC and local school districts are doing to prepare students for the future.

 “Running Start reinforces the strong connection between IECC and the high schools we serve,” Ambrose said. “It also gives counselors, teachers and administrators another way to encourage students to continue their education locally.”

 Ambrose said the goal of the program is to help students maintain the momentum they have already built through their early college and career experiences.

 “Running Start sends a strong message that IECC recognizes students who take initiative in their education,” she said. “Most importantly, it shows them that the work they’ve already done can lead directly to new opportunities.”

SRO Updates District #348 School Board

Wabash District 348’s School Resource Officer says the school year has been a positive one across the district.

At Monday evening’s School Board meeting, Officer Eric Emmons said students and staff have continued building strong relationships with law enforcement since he began serving in the role in October. He said his focus has been not only on school safety and preparedness, but also on mentorship and being a visible, approachable presence for students.

Emmons told the board overall student behavior has been good, and when issues do arise, they are typically addressed quickly by school administrators.

He said he spends most of his time at the high school, but also works with the junior high and elementary school as needed. Emmons described his day as a mix of monitoring hallways, being present during arrivals and dismissals, and making himself available for students who may need help or simply want to talk.

He also told the board he believes each school would benefit from eventually having its own school resource officer.

In addition to his report, Emmons introduced the possibility of a new therapy dog program. He presented Poppy, his two-year-old goldendoodle, and explained that the dog has completed certification and temperament testing through the Pet Partners program.

Emmons said the therapy dog would not be a police K-9, but rather a voluntary resource to help students dealing with anxiety, stress, or other challenges. He said the program would come at no cost to the school district, with expenses covered personally, and suggested the district could consider a pilot program in the future.

School board members and administrators praised Emmons for his work, with Superintendent Dr. Chuck Bleyer calling him an “all-star.”

Mayor Joe Judge also voiced support, saying the city has seen the school resource officer program as a success and remains committed to working with the district on school safety and student support.

Registered Sex Offender taken into custody at Oakland City Primary School.

On March 19, 2026, at 10:47 a.m. East Gibson School Corporation School Resource Officer Donna Huber alerted officers that 47-year-old Branden Willis, a registered sex offender of Somerville had entered the office area of the Oakland City Primary School.  Officer Huber with the assistance of school administration stayed with Mr. Willis until additional law enforcement could arrive.  Once additional officers arrived on scene Mr. Willis was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Gibson County Detention Center where he is being charged with Unlawful Entry of School Property by a Serious Sexual Offender, a Level 6 Felony. 

Deputy Huber was assisted in her investigation by Oakland City Police Chief Tim Gaines, Oakland City University Police Chief Michael McGregor, and Deputy Wyatt Hunt.

West Virginia man arrested for auto theft

On March 18, 2026, at 12:35 p.m. Gibson County Central Dispatch received a report of a stolen vehicle that was stolen out of Harrison County, West Virginia being parked at the Flying J Truck Stop located at 12443 S US Highway 41 near Haubstadt.  Multiple law enforcement officers were dispatched to the scene and upon locating the vehicle, a Gray Hyundai Tucson, they found 27-year-old Joseph Fleming of Daniels, West Virginia in possession of the vehicle.  After a brief investigation Deputy Quinten Might placed Mr. Flemings into custody and transported him to the Gibson County Detention Center where he was charged with Auto Theft and Driving While Suspended Prior. 
 
Deputy Michael Owens and Haubstadt Town Marshal Jason Wright assisted Deputy Might in this investigation. 
 
All criminal defendants are to be presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law

Political will grows for data center regulations as POWER Act remains in committee

Lawmakers, stakeholders, the governor and feds all have indicated they’re open to regulation

Article Summary

• The newly introduced POWER Act seeks to regulate new data centers built in Illinois and address concerns about their effects on energy prices, water and the environment.

• Some Illinois cities and counties are already pursuing regulations, with Aurora being the most recent.

• Calls for regulation are bipartisan, but the specifics are still being negotiated between lawmakers, data center companies and trade groups. 

• The most popular proposal requires data centers to pay for their own energy generation and requires that energy come from renewable sources.

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story.

By NIKOEL HYTREK
CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
nhytrek@capitolnewsillinois.com

SPRINGFIELD — Managing data centers has been a growing issue around the U.S. as states balance economic development with community concerns about pollution, water supply and energy prices. 

That has led to different regulations nationwide from moratoriums on development permits to putting data centers in their own ratepayer class. Illinois legislators have proposed regulating data centers with the POWER Act, a bill that addresses concerns about prices, water and pollution by: 

• Requiring data centers to pay for their own energy and the infrastructure to generate it, and requiring that energy to come from renewable sources.

• Mandating transparency from data centers about their water use and water permits from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which would manage how data centers handle wastewater and meet efficiency standards.

• Requiring the IEPA to conduct assessments about how a data center would impact a community and mandating data center developers enter community benefits agreements that promote transparent engagement with the public. The community benefits agreements will be enforced by a coalition of residents, organizations and local government officials who will make up a community advisory board.

Democratic lawmakers sponsoring the bill call the regulations “commonsense” guardrails on a growing industry that impacts communities and electricity prices. 

“Obviously, we know that data centers can provide economic development. But on the other hand, I want to make sure that our environment is protected and our people are protected,” said Illinois House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel, D-Evanston. 

While data center backers say the economic benefits include job creation, capital investments and property tax revenue, environmentalists and consumer advocates say they are far outweighed by the risks for water resources and energy prices. 

The POWER Act thus far remains in committee. But Illinois has a history of passing large-scale energy packages, such as the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act and the Clean and Reliable Grid Act, as extensive amendments late in their regular or fall legislative session. The session is slated to adjourn on May 31. 

Growing need for rules

Aurora is one Illinois city already regulating data centers. The city in September implemented a 180-day moratorium on development that will expire in late March. 

The city set the pause so it could study the fiscal, environmental, stormwater and utility impacts on the community and come up with better rules and safeguards. 

In late February, Aurora proposed ordinances that would require developers to conduct and submit multiple studies dealing with noise, water consumption and energy needs. The ordinances also require future data centers to meet standards for noise, vibrations, water use and energy use. New and expanded data centers “will also need to install and operate either on-site renewable energy techniques or on-site resilience storage procedures.” 

The POWER Act has similar requirements, and negotiations on the bill are ongoing. Those conversations include municipalities and workforce, labor, manufacturing and environmental groups. 

“What we're asking for in this legislation are principles that I think, widely, people understand,” said state Sen. Ram Villivalam, D-Chicago. 

“Accountability protects our taxpayers and protects our environment. That's, I believe, entirely possible,” he continued.

Technology is an essential part of many people’s lives, and the data centers needed to support that technology will continue to exist and expand, Villivalam said. 

“We're not saying ‘no.’ We're saying this is going to continue. This is how we need to approach it,” he said.

Agreement between the governor and feds

Protecting consumers from paying for data centers’ energy needs is a key part of the POWER Act, and shifting the cost to the data centers has widespread, bipartisan support in Illinois and nationwide. 

During his annual budget address, Gov. JB Pritzker put the onus on PJM Interconnection, the electric grid operator that covers all or part 13 states from Illinois to the East Coast: “PJM must force data center developers to pay for capacity resources to power their operations to protect consumers from higher rates.”

Pritzker also proposed a two-year pause on tax credits for new data centers to compensate for rising demand and higher prices. Illinois has provided tax incentives for data centers since Pritzker signed bipartisan legislation in 2019. According to the state’s 2024 report, at least 27 data centers had received incentives totaling $983 million in estimated lifetime tax breaks and benefits. 

“With the shifting energy landscape, it is imperative that our growth does not undermine affordability and stability for our families,” Pritzker said. 

Pritzker has long advocated for attracting data centers to Illinois, especially given his focus on growing quantum computing, but he lately has said he also wants development to be controlled. 

In January, Pritzker joined the Trump administration and 12 other governors in the PJM service area to call for PJM to adopt six principles to lower electricity prices. One principle would require PJM to allocate the cost of “any new” capacity to data centers. 

Tech companies  in early March signed a voluntary, nonbinding “Ratepayer Protection Pledge” at the White House, agreeing to cover the majority of costs for data center energy, though the pledge does not include penalties or other enforcement language. Seven companies have signed, including Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta. President Donald Trump announced the pledge during his State of the Union address. 

In a separate letter, Pritzker and New Jersey Gov. Philip Murphy clarified to PJM that “implementation of these principles must also ensure that clean, cheap energy growth will not be sabotaged.”  

Cautious support from Republicans 

Illinois Republicans have also called for data centers to pay for their own energy generation, though their support for the POWER Act isn’t guaranteed and they don’t share a commitment that energy generation come from renewable sources.

“While data centers have become part of the broader energy discussion, they are not the primary driver of the rate increases families have been experiencing,” said Sen. Sue Rezin, R-Morris. “At the same time, I believe large energy users should pay their fair share and that our grid must remain secure and dependable.”

Rezin sits on the committees that will likely discuss the POWER Act and she said she’s open to “thoughtful, targeted proposals” for handling data centers, but she also wants to ensure companies aren’t dissuaded from investing in Illinois.

Her concern is similar to that of groups like the Illinois Manufacturers’ Association, which framed the POWER Act as “penalizing innovation” in a news release after it was announced. They also advocated for dealing with energy prices by pursuing an “all-of-the-above energy approach” to generation.

However, Gabel said she’s had conversations with groups like the IMA, and they’ve indicated they’re open to negotiation.

“I have spoken to both the IMA and the Data Center Coalition, and they both say that there's much in this bill that that they can work with,” she said. “There may be a few issues that we need more discussion about, but neither of those organizations felt like this was DOA.” 

Considering how many other states have data center regulations, Gabel said she thinks concerns about scaring away development are overblown.

“I’ve met with data centers, and they are open to this,” she said.

The Clean Jobs Coalition, a group of organizations committed to renewable energy favors the bill but also supports negotiation.

“We also know that data center development in Illinois to date has not delivered a fair deal for families, who have paid millions in tax incentives while subsidizing Big Tech’s utility costs,” the group said in a statement. “The POWER Act is an opportunity to reconcile that imbalance moving forward and will need further discussion and consideration among stakeholders.”

A big reason for the urgency, Gabel said, is that data centers built elsewhere in the PJM territory would impact what Illinoisans pay anyway, even if the centers aren’t built in Illinois. That’s because all states in that territory pull from the same energy pool.

“We feel like it’s our responsibility to put some guardrails around the development of these data centers,” she said. 

The bill language is now in the House Executive Committee, which meets Thursday at 10 a.m. and the Senate AI and Social Media Subcommittee, where senators will discuss multiple bills regulating data centers, though negotiations could come down to the wire if recent history is a guide.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

While the AI race sparked heightened interest in data centers, most of the centers in the state are multi-tenant retail centers — shared by numerous organizations and highly connected with telecommunications, cloud computing and other providers. The Digital Realty center on Chicago’s South loop is an example. (Medill Illinois News Bureau photo by Gabriel Castilho)

Bailey says campaign will focus on Chicago area after rough primary night in suburbs

Republicans seeking unity as party seeks to reverse decade of statewide losses 

By BEN SZALINSKI
Capitol News Illinois
bszalinski@capitolnewsillinois.com

Article Summary

• Republican gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey said his campaign will focus heavily on the Chicago area. 

• Bailey heavily lost suburban counties in Tuesday’s primary that he won four years ago but said he intentionally focused on downstate in recent months. 

• Bailey said he will also be trying to win over more moderate voters who don’t share views as conservative as his — two years after trying to primary a conservative downstate congressman from the right. 

• The state Republican Party overall is also trying to present a more united front for the general election after the party has been bruised by internal divisions. 

This summary was written by the reporters and editors who worked on this story. 

NAPERVILLE — Tuesday night’s primary results show downstate farmer and former state lawmaker Darren Bailey will have his work cut out for him in the Chicago area as he tries for a second time to unseat Gov. JB Pritzker. 

He and other members began that work in earnest at a unity breakfast in Naperville on Wednesday morning – an area of the state that will be a focus for the statewide candidates as the primary results once again demonstrated the fault lines of Illinois’ electorate. 

Bailey was trounced by conservative researcher Ted Dabrowski in Cook, Lake and DuPage counties, and is so far trailing him among the 290 GOP primary voters in Alexander County on the state’s southern tip. In the 2022 primary, Bailey won all but one county in the state against his well-funded competitor, Richard Irvin.

Dabrowski, a resident of north suburban Wilmette, has received 48% of the vote in Cook County to Bailey’s 31%. Four years ago, Bailey was the one who received 48% of the vote in the state’s most populous county. 

“As far as the primary was concerned, nothing went wrong,” Bailey told reporters. “We came up here, we spent time, but we knew the primary is won in the other counties, so we focused on that as part of the strategy. For the next eight months, get used to me because you're going to be seeing me up here almost every day.”

But the geographic divide was also evident in the race for the GOP’s secretary of state nomination, which pitted Joliet Junior College Trustee Diane Harris against Walter Adamczyk, a GOP committeeman for Chicago’s 29th Ward. 

Harris appeared poised to carry virtually all of the state’s counties outside 11 counties in the state’s northwest corner, which were carried by Adamczyk.

Bailey performed well with the base of Republican voters in the state. He received more than three-quarters of the vote in many of the state’s most rural counties and took home more than 90% of the vote in his home county of Clay. But statewide, Bailey has also underperformed the benchmarks he set four years ago when he received 57% of the vote, so far coming in at 53.5% this year with 95% of votes counted.

Turnout in the Republican primary also appears to be down overall from 2022, according to initial unofficial results, although ballots are still being counted. 

New campaign strategy

Another big question is whether Bailey can convince voters that this year will be different from 2022, when he lost to Pritzker by 12 points. Bailey’s opponents urged voters to reject him in the primary, arguing that a rematch will yield the same result. 

“We understand where we failed the last time and we're fixing those and we're getting into every ward and every area and every district of Chicago, and we're going to earn their respect and support,” Bailey said. 

Pritzker’s campaign is already taking swings at Bailey, launching a video saying “Darren Bailey is back and he's still too extreme for Illinois.” Bailey’s team hit back with their own digital ad highlighting questions that have been raised about Pritzker’s wealth. 

Asked about how his conservative views will play on the campaign trail this year, Bailey acknowledged he needs to broaden his appeal.

“I served as a state senator from very conservative districts, and we come up here up north and we find out that, you know, not everybody thinks the same,” Bailey said. “We're focusing on what people do agree on.”

A Republican has not won a race for a statewide office since 2014. 

Party unity

The other major challenge Bailey faces is competing with Pritzker’s vast personal wealth. The governor spent $300 million on his first two campaigns and he’s already dumped $25.5 million in his campaign coffers this year. 

“We don't have to match JB Pritzker dollar for dollar,” Bailey said. “What we need is people to get registered to vote, to show up to vote.”

Bailey said one of his wealthy primary opponents, Rick Heidner, has “stepped up to the plate” for an unspecified contribution. Heidner, who carried less than 9% of the vote, did not immediately return a request for comment.

Bailey chose running mate Aaron Del Mar, the Cook County Republican Party chair, largely in an effort to woo Chicago-area voters. Bailey also appears to have work to do convincing some of his opponents to support him in November.

“Right now, it's a time for healing, and there's been so much work, so much effort put not just by the candidates, but by all of their staff and by all their volunteers,” Del Mar, told reporters when asked if the other Republican opponents have committed to supporting Bailey’s ticket. “So, there's going to take a little bit of time to heal, and I want to offer grace to each and every one.”

Dabrowski issued a statement late Wednesday congratulating Bailey and wishing him well in the general election although he didn't attend the breakfast.

"The goal of defeating Pritzker and restoring the quality to life in Illinois has not changed," he said in the emailed statement. "I will not be the standard-bearer for this effort, but I will commit to the task that remains at hand."

Illinois Republican Party Chair Kathy Salvi did not speak to reporters following Wednesday’s breakfast. The state party has been plagued by internal divisions for several years over how much it should embrace President Donald Trump and conservative candidates.

Trump has performed poorly every time he’s been on Illinois’ ballot, and Bailey seemed to acknowledge that fact in his Tuesday night election speech. But the candidates who align themselves with the present often perform best in state primaries. 

“You’re going to hear JB Pritzker and his Democrat allies try to compare me to Donald Trump and use some pretty mean words while doing it,” he said. “Well, there are things that I agree with Donald Trump about, and there are things that I disagree with him about. I am my own man. But when Trump is right, we’re going to try to do those things in Illinois.”

The Republican Party’s divisions were further exposed in a downstate House race on Tuesday. In the 94th House District in western Illinois, Henderson County Republican Josh Higgins defeated Rep. Norine Hammond, R-Macomb, with 58% of the vote. Higgins was backed by the far-right Freedom Caucus.

Hammond was a member of House Minority Leader Tony McCombie’s leadership team, which the Freedom Caucus opposes. 

“Josh Higgins' victory is a loud and clear statement that the grassroots will no longer tolerate frauds in the Republican party, much less as a ‘leader’ of the Republican caucus,” the Freedom Caucus said in a statement. 

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

Republican nominee for governor Darren Bailey speaks to reporters following a Republican Party breakfast in Naperville on March 18, 2026. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Ben Szalinski)

Election results from the 2026 March primary reported by the Associated Press show differences in voters’ preferences between the Chicago area and downstate counties. (Capitol News Illinois illustration)