Stop the Unregulated Data Center in Jersey County: Demand a Moratorium & Local Transparency!

Target Decision-Makers
Jersey County Board of Commissioners
Jerseyville City Council
MJM Electric Cooperative Board of Trustees

Our rural heritage, family farmland, residential tranquility, and utility stability in Jersey County are under threat from a proposed 18-megawatt industrial data center and cryptocurrency mining development on Van Horne Lane.

An out-of-state LLC managed by offshore entities is attempting to build an unstaffed industrial computing yard directly adjacent to family homes and agricultural ground. Official engineering plans confirm eight high-capacity transformers and high-density computing containers requiring continuous cooling.

Rather than protecting local residents, our local governing bodies and cooperative leadership have kept our community in the dark:

• The County Board has claimed their "hands are tied," while other Illinois counties have enacted moratoria to protect their communities.
• The City of Jerseyville stated on the public record that they are "not actively working on a data center," even while City officials attended planning sessions and coordinated stormwater reviews.
• MJM Electric Cooperative entered into an agreement to sell cooperative land under Section 33 Non-Disclosure Agreements, hiding financial agreements behind confidential clauses.

We are not against technology, but we oppose backdoor industrialization that threatens our water resources, subjects rural families to 24/7 industrial noise, risks grid stability, and locks public oversight behind closed doors.

What This Petition Demands
By signing your name, you are joining hundreds of your neighbors in demanding:

• A 12-Month County Moratorium: The Jersey County Board must immediately pause all data center permitting to adopt enforceable ordinances regulating noise limits, water usage, and mandatory decommissioning bonds.
• City Planning Oversight: The City of Jerseyville must exercise its legal 1.5-mile extraterritorial planning authority over this site and cease internal administrative coordination.
• MJM Land Contract Cancellation: The MJM Board of Trustees must exercise its rights under Section 5 to terminate the land contract and reject the industrial development of cooperative land.
• Complete Government Transparency: No more closed-door contracts, undisclosed personnel votes, or confidential utility pacts. All public records, studies, and agreements must be made available for citizen review.

Take Action With Us
Elected officials and cooperative directors work for us… the taxpayers, voters, and cooperative member-owners.

Please sign this petition today, share it with your family and neighbors across Jersey and Macoupin counties, and join us in person  Friday from 3 PM to 6 PM at CVS Pharmacy in Jerseyville to unite for transparency and community protection.

Stand up for Jersey County. Stop the project before it starts!