Chicago and Joliet residents hold press conference preceding, and make public comments at Chicago’s City Council session to demand Mayor Brandon Johnson cease all support for the Psi Quantum facility and data center currently under construction in Chicago’s east side. An explicit demand is being made to revoke all associated building permits, and stop the illegal construction happening on the site. Residents and Organizers will be available for interviews; contact Anais Donald (214-797-8893).
This marks the third time that residents have made the public demand to Mayor Johnson at city council, and the first time concerned residents from the broader Joliet area are taking a stand against the development as well. The fear for both Chicago residents and their suburban neighbors is clear: The facility and attached data center requires enormous power resources– 350 megawatts, enough to power over 200,000 households. The PsiQuantum facility and data center also requires access to water, is being built on contaminated soil, and is now being suspected by local residents to be underselling the true energy demand impact to the region. Residents are demanding a full cessation of work at the development site.
Recently, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders to place federal resources towards developing the U.S.’ quantum capabilities. Gov. J.B. Pritzker recently issued a tax moratorium on data centers, yet is still the principal champion behind the PsiQuantum Facility and data center development- pushing Illinois to give nearly 1 billion dollars in public funding to support development.
Read more about the community response to the development here.
