WE’RE ALL COMPLICIT
These data centers concern me. The only thing I feel a rational person can do is significantly reduce their reliance on them. Until a person does this, they are complicit in their construction. I have to scratch my head when someone tells me that they are using the very infrastructure that data centers support (social media, namely) to oppose data centers. The response I’ve gotten is that it is difficult to get the word out in any other way.
Therein lies the problem. When we collectively decided to hollow out the means of communication that we had come to develop — newspapers, radio, etc. — we unknowingly voted for these data centers.
There are two main groups opposing these data centers: people who are afraid of the effects near them (NIMBYs – “Not In My Back Yard”) and people who don’t want them built at all (BANANAs – “Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone”). I actually have more respect for the second group, because for them it’s about the future of our society. The first group, the group that has no problem utilizing data centers so long as they’re not built near them, rattle me a bit.
I truly think the best response to these data centers is to rely on them significantly less. It’s not just AI. It’s social media. It’s streaming. Admittedly, I have had less connection with people since leaving social media once and for all. But that’s not because social media is necessary – it’s because I had become too reliant on it for too long. Now it’s back to old-fashioned blogs, email, websites and RSS feeds. Oh, and newspapers like Illinois Times.
Steven Simpson-Black
Springfield
HOLD YES VOTES RESPONSIBLE
I am horrified that the Sangamon County Board zoning vote for the CyrusOne data center passed April 7. Tabling or voting no were legitimate options to allow us time to put guardrails on data centers coming into our community and to allow time for state legislation to catch up to ensure environmental and health protections are in place. To the board members who decided, against all evidence presented to the contrary, to vote yes – shame on you.
Now that you’ve allowed this to happen, the rest of the process will undoubtedly occur at a quick pace. Your groveling to the Growth Alliance and CyrusOne have invited more data centers to set their sights on our county.
Those who voted yes are directly responsible for destroying the environment in our county for generations; increasing health and safety risks for community members and their subsequent health care costs; and utility rate increases.
I am 100% pro-union, despite the condescending, smug comments made by union leadership at the April 7 meeting that those of us against the data center are “unprofessional” and “anti-union.” Those of us against the data center know CyrusOne will not hold true to their vague promises made to unions, just as they’ve done at every other build. We want our locals to have good jobs with respectable companies.
Shame on the board members who voted yes and were so willing to sell out the rest of the county.
Claire D. Heffron-McKinney
Springfield
HYPOCRITE
I attended the public comment portion of the April 7 County Board meeting. Brad Schaive was one of the union leaders who spoke, representing Local 477, although he did not give a substantial reason why the data center would be a benefit for his union brothers and sisters.
Instead, he asked the board members to vote based on the behavior of the room. He highlighted the “decorum” and “professionalism” shown in the room during the public hearing as “all these men and women (from labor) sit here quietly.” He said that these people were not disturbing the peace, and those in opposition were hypocrites and caused chaos. He ended his time asking the board members to “stand up for order, and say no to chaos.”
Then while leaving the podium, he turned to a group of citizens sitting in the front (including me), and said, “Shut the fuck up.” It was appalling to see a leader represent a union based on “professionalism,” then immediately abandon the principle once off mic. This undermines his message and calls his integrity into question. His actions show he is a hypocrite.
Rachael McMillan
Springfield
This article appears in April 9-15, 2026.
