Good afternoon everyone - we hope that you and your families are staying cool and will be safely indoors during this week’s upcoming series of storms.  

To be sure, yesterday was interesting.  For those of you who were able to attend the 10am Assessments, Planning, and Zoning committee meeting, you were, more than likely, surprised by the things that were not discussed as opposed to what was addressed during the course of the morning.  This was the agenda for the meeting leading up to yesterday (as listed on the Ogle County official website): 

PLANNING & ZONING PORTION OF MEETING:

• 8. CONSIDERATION OF MONTHLY BILLS OF PLANNING & ZONING DEPARTMENT, AND ACTION
• 9. UNFINISHED BUSINESS (CONSIDERATION AND POSSIBLE ACTION)
  • Hearing Officer/Hearing Facilitator
  • Data Center Considerations and Past Actions
  • Ogle County Update on Data Centers
  • Short Overview Presentation on Data Center Research & Actions for County
    • Preliminary Draft Ordinance for Initial Review
    • Handout at Committee Meeting
    • Based of State and National Government Best Practices

This did not occur.  Instead, Chairwoman Nordman stated that nothing was ready.  No draft ordinance was available to be presented.  In lieu of an ordinance, a singular printout of the industrial zones within Ogle County (that are available for industrial development) was made available on an easel for viewing.  

The following did not go unnoticed: Constellation’s chief legal counsel on this issue, Benjamin L. Schuster of Elrod Friedman LLP, made the drive in from Chicago for a 10am meeting in Oregon, Illinois.  Also in attendance was Constellation’s Manager for Local Government Affairs, Ryan Tozer.

Considering these two parties were present in negotiating the agricultural rezoning to industrial over the course of 2024-early 2025, it would seem curious that they were there just for a sit-and-see.  

Over the past month, a number of Ogle county residents have been told information that a draft ordinance has been in the works.  Different parties have been told the following: a draft ordinance is being worked on in the style of Dekalb’s and that this effort is, in fact, being headed up by a member of the Ogle County Board in concert with two outside parties (one retired and one from the U of I).  

The residents of Ogle County have been told, time and time again, that there is no “there there".  

We have been told that there is no draft ordinance.  

Historically, this is what members of the county board have said publicly regarding the prospect of a data center coming to Ogle County: Constellation Succeeds In Rezoning Property Near Illinois Nuclear Plant .

And: Community prepares for possible AI data center at Byron nuclear plant.

“The area looks good for such a project,” says Bruce Larson of the Byron site. “It looks like it may fit there very well for the power supply… we’re working with them to see what can happen,” he mentions.  Larson expects the search for a developer and/or permitting process to last through 2025. Anything faster would be “more than welcomed’ to occur.

“Anything faster would be more than welcomed to occur."

We need to continue to show up for our children, for our families, and for those who cannot due to illness, age, or disability.  We must remain engaged.  

Here are the dates for the next meetings:
June 16th, 5:30pm: County Board Meeting (3rd Floor County Board Room), Agenda TBD
June 18th, 6:00pm: Regional Planning Commission (1st Floor Conference Room #100), Agenda TBD
June 25th, 6:00pm: Zoning Board of Appeals (3rd Floor County Board Room #317), Agenda TBD

Also, if you plan on speaking, the 3 to 5 minute range has become a bit muddled.  Some meetings have allowed for only 3 minutes (the APZ on June 9th being one).  Some meetings have allowed for 5 minutes.  Some committees have allowed speakers to “borrow time” from others.  

It was made clear that speakers are only allowed three minutes and that borrowing time was not allowed.  

Please continue to show up.  Please continue to engage civically and with civility.  And carpool if you can. 

(P.S. - We regret a misidentification of Mr. Tozer as Mr. Paul Dempsey for having attended the June 9th’s APZ Meeting at 10am.  To clarify, Mr. Dempsey is Constellation’s General Comms Director, who, in 2025, advocated for Amendment 17, resulting in the expansion of the Lee-Ogle Enterprise Zone’s boundary to include the Byron nuclear facility and its neighboring land.  Why is this significant?  This zoning expansion allowed for Constellation to pursue economic incentives tied to the Economic Zone, incentivizing possible development of a hyperscale data center facility.  You may read it for yourself in this link: Ogle County Life: “Byron Nuclear Plant seeks enterprise zone incentives”.  You can also read the following article: “Tax Incentives for Byron Nuclear Plant Upgrades" )