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It’s a new month. Start October with the latest from WTTW News. |
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(WTTW News) |
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Large, resource-intensive data centers have drawn increased public attention in recent years as their construction ramped up around the country. But in an urban environment like Chicago, data centers of all sizes can have a big impact.
Noise from cooling systems and air pollution from backup generators are two examples of data center impacts that can have an outsize effect in a densely populated city.
Now, as a city task force explores the right guardrails on data centers, policymakers are shifting into gear as they work to catch up with the emerging industry.
At last Wednesday’s City Council meeting, alderpeople voted to remove exemptions for data centers from the city’s Energy Benchmarking Ordinance. That move — a key recommendation from the city’s working group on sustainable data centers — is intended to provide transparency around data centers’ energy efficiency and water usage.
But despite the support for benchmarking requirements, City Council members failed to get behind other proposed data center regulations — including a moratorium.
What to know:
In August, Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order addressing noise controls and air pollution permitting for data centers. Johnson’s order also called on alderpeople to enact a temporary moratorium on new data center development.
That moratorium, introduced Wednesday, would have applied to data centers bigger than 1,000 square feet with more than 20% of their floor space dedicated to servers. But its fate is uncertain, after two alderpeople promptly routed it to the Rules committee upon its introduction.
According to Angela Tovar, the commissioner of Chicago’s Department of Environment as well as the city’s chief sustainability officer, a temporary moratorium could give policymakers time to get the right guardrails in place.
“The city was very transparent in saying, ‘The regulations we have in place today are not adequate for how we should regulate the modern data center,’” Tovar said. “This presents an opportunity for the city to course-correct.”
But for Brad Tietz, the Midwest director of state government affairs at the Data Center Coalition, a pause on data center development isn’t necessary to work with the industry on regulations.
“What (a moratorium) is doing is sending a signal to the industry that this might not be the best place to put forth a multibillion-dollar investment,” Tietz said. |
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Sponsor Message |
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Full Spectrum Education, Northeastern Illinois University’s Goodwin College of Education, and NEIU Libraries presents a distinguished lecture on the Japanese American Redress movement, Thursday, October 15th at 5:00 pm.
Hear Doctor Michael Jin examine and demonstrate how educators can develop curriculum on this significant historical topic in American history in a way that can be relevant and meaningful for today’s students.
This free event is part of the “Reckoning with Redress” exhibition, ongoing through October 31st at the Ronald Williams Library Gallery on the main campus.
To RSVP for this event, visit NEIU.edu/reckoning-redress-three-part-series |
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Sendhil Revuluri speaks during a WTTW candidate forum on Sept. 15, 2026. (Genie Lemieux / WTTW) |
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Former Chicago Board of Education vice president Sendhil Revuluri is ending his campaign to become the board’s first-ever elected president, blaming “special-interest cash” for blocking out the “voices of real Chicagoans.”
In a statement, Revuluri said his decision wasn’t an easy one.
“I’m grateful to every person who gave their time, money, and energy to this campaign,” he said. “Our staff and volunteers worked tirelessly for a year, collected signatures from all 50 wards, and never lost sight of why we were doing this. I couldn’t have asked for a better team, and Chicago’s students couldn’t have asked for better advocates.”
Some backstory:
While his name will remain on the November ballot, Revuluri’s exit leaves three candidates left for the board president position: current board member Jessica Biggs, former Chicago Teachers Union political director Hilario Dominguez and trial attorney Victor Henderson.
The entire 21-member school board is up for election this November, marking a first in the board’s history.
Revuluri, who had previously been appointed to the board by then-Mayor Lori Lightfoot in 2019, had been critical of the way the current partially elected board had been operating.
During a candidate forum hosted by WTTW News earlier this month, Revuluri said board members need to better understand what’s most important to Chicagoans and set very clear expectations.
“We have to go back, start with what our students need and not be bound by interest groups or familiar territory or what we’ve always done,” he said of fixing the district’s budgetary woes.
In his statement Tuesday, Revuluri said he raised more money “from real people” than any other candidate, but that the ongoing board president race has shown that “the gusher of special-interest cash has crowded out the voices of real Chicagoans.” |
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The Chicago Park District is gathering feedback on the use of motorized devices on park paths. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News) |
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The Chicago Park District is grappling with a new Illinois law set to take effect Jan. 1 that governs the use of e-bikes and other micromobility devices such as e-scooters on roads and paths.
Though the legislation was designed to create standardized statewide rules, it left an opening for park districts to further restrict use of the devices.
In Chicago, where the Park District's current code doesn't even have a speed limit for old-fashioned human-pedaled bicycles, officials are weighing options for ordinance amendments.
Pam Whitmer, director of policy for the district, laid out the specifics of the new state law Tuesday night at the first of three scheduled town halls designed to gather public feedback.
In short: E-motos (motorized cycles without pedals) and high-powered e-bikes capable of exceeding 28 miles per hour will be prohibited from bike paths under the new law. The Park District can't alter that directive, Whitmer noted, but added the law doesn't define “bike path.”
More context:
All other micromobility devices — motorized unicycles ("unis"), e-skateboards, lower speed e-bikes and e-scooters — are permitted at speeds up to 28 miles per hour.
Forest preserve districts and other municipalities have capped speeds at 15 to 20 miles per hour, Whitmer said.
Consensus at the sparsely attended meeting was that the Park District needs to enact tougher limits than the state, particularly regarding speed.
The Park District is holding a virtual town hall next Tuesday at noon. According to Whitmer, the goal is to present proposed ordinance amendments to the Park District's board of commissioners at the group's November meeting. |
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More From WTTW News:
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A Chicago woman, who previously pleaded guilty to concealing her dead mother’s body in a freezer for two years, now faces federal charges alleging she fraudulently collected more than $20,000 in Social Security and SNAP benefits during that time.
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Back in the Day: October 1, 1971 - Chicago Reader Publishes First Issue
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55 years ago today, the Chicago Reader published its first issue. It was founded by a group of Carleton College students, Robert A. Roth, Robert E. McCamant, Thomas J. Rehwaldt and Thomas K. Yoder, who pooled together $16,000 to kickstart the publication. The first issue was 16 pages, featuring stories on the Maxwell Street Market, a review of a new theatrical production at Kingston Mines, the then-boom in plant stores and much more. In its early years, the founders operated out of apartment buildings in Kenwood and Rogers Park. Still, the Reader would soon become a leader in the alternative weekly newspapers industry, pioneering a 100% free-circulation business model. The Reader has weathered multiple storms, especially in recent years, but it’s still publishing essential stories in its new monthly magazine format. |
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This Week’s Arts and Culture Events |
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Every Thursday, WTTW News newsletter producer Josh Terry highlights his picks for the week’s must-see cultural events.
It’s already October, but Chicago isn’t slowing down when it comes to cultural events. Sure, street festival season is winding down, and you won’t be able to catch many concerts outdoors. Still, you can fill your evenings and hours with whatever you want, from musicals to film screenings and more.
Theater: “You Can't Fake The Funk (A Journey Through Funk Music)” — Black Ensemble Theatre
Uptown’s Black Ensemble Theater is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, and its latest installment is another run of Daryl D. Brooks’ 2019 musical “You Can’t Fake the Funk (A Journey Through Funk Music).” Promising "a high-energy, feel-good celebration of the sound that defined a generation," this production has received raves from the Chicago Reader, Chicago Theatre Review and more. It runs through Oct. 25, and you can buy tickets here.
Art: “Field Notes” — Dragonfly Gallery
A new group show at Dragonfly Gallery, 2436 W. Madison, opens this Friday and runs through Halloween. It’s titled “Field Notes” and features works by Sebastian Hidalgo, Mario Mena, Bibiana Saucedo, Robert Vargas and Alex Wilson. The exhibit is centered around the idea that the artists featured are “field-workers of their own city, each keeping a record of Chicago that cannot be separated from their own relationship to it.” The opening ceremony is Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. For more information, click here.
Film: “The League of Women Voters Presents ‘Democracy at Risk’ Double Feature” — Gene Siskel Film Center
On Sunday and Monday, the Gene Siskel Film Center and the League of Women Voters will present screenings of Billy Wilder’s 1951 film “Ace in the Hole” and Haskell Wexler’s 1969 movie “Medium Cool.” The theater’s website notes that both films “ask timeless questions about journalism, democracy and the uneasy relationship between truth and spectacle.” The Sunday screening of “Ace in the Hole” will feature a discussion with the esteemed film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum. Buy tickets here. |
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What's the best bar in Chicago to watch the Bears? Tell us why. |
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Email DailyChicagoan@wttw.com with your responses and your answers might be published.
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5:30 PM | 10:00 PM |
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Want more WTTW News content? Follow WTTW on Instagram to check in with us daily, go behind-the-scenes, and more. |
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Newsletter Producer: Josh Terry |
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