Tony DelGiorno’s defense of the CyrusOne data center in the April 18 edition of The State Journal-Register is more than a policy disagreement; it is a betrayal to constituents.
By prioritizing a billionaire tech corporation over the long-term health of our community, DelGiorno has proven he values corporate expansion over genuine sustainability.
DelGiorno touts job creation, yet 500 construction jobs are temporary roles that vanish once the concrete dries. For a county of nearly 200,000 people, the projected 100 permanent positions are a pittance.
We are sacrificing 280 acres of farmland for a facility that provides fewer long-term jobs than a single local grocery store. Furthermore, this supposed tax windfall is a fiscal illusion. These deals often require massive tax abatements and public subsidies, effectively forcing residents to subsidize a multibillion-dollar corporation.
We aren’t gaining a partner; we are hosting a resource extractive tenant that leaves behind a massive carbon footprint and a handful of security guards once the tax breaks expire.
DelGiorno dismisses our environmental concerns as “internet-driven misinformation,” but the laws of thermodynamics are not debatable.
A closed-loop system is not a zero-pollution system. High-density AI servers generate immense heat; during peak temperatures, these facilities must often “bleed the lines” or switch to evaporative cooling, straining local water tables.
Even more alarming is the data heat island effect. Research shows AI data centers can raise local land surface temperatures by an average of 3.6°F, with spikes up to 16°F radiating six miles away. This creates a microclimate that damages crops, increases residential cooling costs, and worsens air quality. Combined with the 400 diesel-powered backup generators proposed for this site (known emitters of toxic PM2.5 and NOx), this project is an environmental ticking time bomb.
We are told we need this for the internet of the future. This is false. The internet functioned before the current AI arms race, which is driven by corporate and military greed rather than human necessity. This project represents a big tech land grab that offers no benefit to the citizens who will live in its shadow.
We need leaders who serve the people. Sangamon County should lead the charge for sustainability, not sell its future to CyrusOne. It is time to halt this project and support and model efforts like Bernie Sanders’s AI Data Center Moratorium Act to protect the public from environmental degradation. Shame on you, Tony DelGiorno.
Amber Nicolette Maler, District 22 resident
This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: DelGiorno’s data center vote is a betrayal to constituents | Letter
Reporting by Amber Maler, Special to the State Journal-Register / State Journal-Register
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