Local residents protest potential rezoning of Plum Farms site in Hoffman Estates for data center
Residents of communities near the 186-acre Plum Farms property in Hoffman Estates Wednesday protested its proposed rezoning for industrial uses they consider a smoke screen for a data center.
Demonstrators from Hoffman Estates, Barrington Hills and South Barrington cited documents obtained through public records requests as evidence that inquiries about a plan for a data center at the northwest corner of routes 59 and 72 were shared with the village in early 2025
Hoffman Estates Deputy Village Manager Jon Pape confirmed landowner Karis Critical did submit such unsolicited concept plans last year. They were not reviewed by village staff as a formal development proposal would have been.
Mayor Bill McLeod emphasized the request before the village board at its meeting of Monday, July 6 is for a rezoning of the property without a detailed plan attached.
“A concept plan isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on,” McLeod said. “Formal plans are very involved. What’s on the table is rezoning.”
The village’s plan commission recommended against granting that request by a 4-2 vote on June 3. The village presidents of Barrington Hills and South Barrington have lent their voices to the opposition.
Barrington Hills resident Amanda Pollard showed a letter she’d obtained through a records request dated Jan. 16, 2025, the day before Karis Critical closed on its purchase of the property rather than engaging in a longer due-diligence process.
Signed by Hoffman Estates Village Manager Eric Palm, the letter informs attorney Matthew Norton, who represents Karis Critical, that the village board has previously supported two other data center developments.
“Although staff cannot guarantee actions the village board will take in the future, past actions can be useful to predict future data center approvals,” the letter reads. “I appreciate and encourage your client’s desire to invest in Hoffman Estates. Staff believes this is a positive development and will recommend its approval.”
Pollard also shared an old online Karis Critical brochure for the marketing of the site, but conceded there wasn’t the same evidence of its being shared with the village.
The protest she was part of gathered at Plum Farms late Wednesday afternoon before crossing Route 59 to the scheduled summer concert at The Arboretum of South Barrington shopping center to solicit signatures against the rezoning.