Hoffman Estates mayor talks of data centers, new search for hardware store in annual address

Hoffman Estates Mayor Bill McLeod fielded questions about data centers, interactions with federal immigration agents and the renewed search for a hardware store during his annual update before the chamber of commerce Thursday.

Held at the village-owned Now Arena, General Manager Ben Gibbs also boasted about the venue’s record-breaking year.

“The exciting part of this job is you never know what’s going to happen,” McLeod, 45-year veteran of village government, said.

His update on Compass Datacenters’ $10 billion replacement of the former Sears campus and the progress on Microsoft’s own $500 million data center campus further east sparked questions about the much-discussed effects of such developments.

McLeod said both campuses will use different cooling technologies, with Compass requiring only 6,000 gallons of water per day — the equivalent of 20 single-family homes — while Microsoft will use about 140,000 gallons on the hottest summer day.

The village’s electrical grid is prepared to handle the increased capacity and more, he added.

McLeod believes data centers will continue to be built in Illinois only if the electricity supply is there.

“I think the market will do a good job of self-correcting that,” McLeod said. “We’ve really become an electricity-dependent society.”

Someone asked about the presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in the village and the police department’s interaction with them.

Apart from a known occasion when ICE officers used the parking lot and lobby restrooms of the police station like any other members of the public, Hoffman Estates neither assisted nor hampered them, McLeod said.

The mayor also noted the village was attempting to find a replacement for the Ace Hardware store at Golf and Higgins roads that closed last fall after eight years.

Hoffman Estates Economic Development Director Kevin Kramer further explained afterward that Cook County taxes have proved to be a particular obstacle for hardware stores of the desired size.

Next week will see the move from the village’s old Fire Station 21 on Flagstaff Lane to the new one next door. Later in the year, a replacement for the current Fire Station 22 near Ascenion St. Alexius Medical Center will begin construction.

McLeod provided an update on the development of the west wing of the BellWorks Chicagoland metroburb at the former AT&T headquarters site, including the start of townhouse construction there.

Meanwhile, Gibbs shared the story of Now Arena’s 2025 successes both inside as well as outside at the Hideaway Brew Garden, where a new building is completing construction.

The arena’s record-breaking year included 220,138 tickets sold for just under $10 million, Windy City Bulls attendance of 79,347, $4.8 million in concession sales and total revenue of $16.9 million.

The Hideaway Brew Garden itself saw $1.2 million in food and beverage sales last year, Gibbs said.

While many of the events at the arena were the result of its own marketing team’s efforts, Gibbs had special praise for the Windy City Bulls as the longest-serving tenant of the nearly 20-year-old venue.

“Every year they find new ways to find new fans,” he said.