Circuit Judge Adam Giganti tossed the county’s first data center lawsuit Nov. 6 before the trial stage, writing that the Sangamon County Board “is responsible for the management of County funds, along with the authority to regulate issues including zoning, public health and building safety, among others.”
The July 6 lawsuit sought a judicial review of the Sangamon County Board’s April zoning approval to allow for construction of a hyperscale data center in Talkington Township, claiming procedural violations and unchecked environmental concerns. The Sangamon County Board approved a conditional use permit on April 7 that would allow a data center to be constructed on 280 acres of farmland by a vote of 17-10, with one board member abstaining.
“(T)he Board’s action is highly presumed to be valid and creates an exceptionally difficult hurdle for the plaintiffs to overcome… This Court’s review is limited to only whether a conceivable rational relationship exists between the decision and a legitimate governmental purpose,” Giganti’s decision states. “The Court finds the asserted rational basis appears within the complaint and its attached exhibits themselves: the materials identify job creation, economic investment, limited environmental effects, infrastructure benefits and projected tax revenue as a rational basis for supporting the County Board’s decision.”
The filing also mentions “approximately $6 million in annual County tax revenue,” but the county’s own staff report shows about $3.55 million in annual projected property tax revenue would go to three taxing bodies based in Macoupin County, with six Sangamon-based taxing districts expected to split roughly $1.36 million annually over a 20-year period, if all assessments go according to plan.
That’s a total of roughly $4.9 million in combined annual tax revenue to both counties.
While Giganti’s dismissal references “generator emissions” and “water demands,” it ultimately relies on zoning petition claims of “limited environmental effects.”
Giganti’s decision made no mention of the plaintiffs’ claim about whether the approved zoning petition followed the County Code’s own language, which states “(t)he petition for a conditional permitted use for a data center shall include… letters from the serving utility companies indicating the availability and adequacy of utility services.”
The County Board approved the zoning petition despite the electricity utility letter submitted referencing a different data center project altogether and the water utility letter stating it was still reviewing CyrusOne’s application. The County Board’s lawyers argue that the Board was “conditionally approving the (conditional use) permit contingent on future submission of these materials.”
The Rural Electric Convenience Cooperative will-serve electricity letter, dated Aug. 26, 2025, makes no mention of CyrusOne but it does say the electric co-op will provide electricity to a different, substantially smaller project called the Diamond Core Data Center. The Jan. 29 Apple Creek Water Cooperative letter included in the zoning petition states the water utility is still reviewing CyrusOne’s application.
Illinois Times called and emailed both utility companies and Sean Middleton, president and CEO of RECC – who has been publicly supportive of the project – over the past three weeks asking if either company could provide updated will-serve utility letters for the CyrusOne data center project but neither responded to numerous requests. Apple Creek Water Cooperative referred Illinois Times to its attorney from Rammelkamp Bradney but multiple voicemails left for Bradley Wilson were not returned.
County property records show none of the land that was approved for a conditional use permit in April has been sold yet, more than seven months since the County Board approved the deal.
In August 2024, Diamond Core Datacenter and members of Dowson Farms signed a letter of intent for the data center’s limited liability company to purchase the same land CyrusOne petitioned to purchase via contract roughly one year later. The five-year contract doesn’t expire until August 2029 – it’s unclear if CyrusOne has taken over the option to purchase agreement.
The Illinois Secretary of State’s Office lists top personnel from Swift Current Energy as business managers of Diamond Core Datacenter LLC, which was incorporated in September 2024. Swift Current Energy owns and operates the 4,000-acre Double Black Diamond Solar farm near where the CyrusOne project was approved.
Read Giganti’s full dismissal here: