Data center will be bad for Grayslake

Last week, the biweekly Grayslake village board meeting room was filled with citizens protesting the already-approved data center.

This data center was approved for approximately 472 acres comprising over 20 buildings with a capacity of over 10 million square feet. The center was approved by the trustees without any community input and is a disaster waiting to happen for not only Grayslake, but also neighboring communities like Mundelein, Libertyville, Wauconda, and the Round Lake communities.

It will be most harmful to the community of Saddlebrook Farms which has over 2,000 homes. This retirement community is immediately across the road from the proposed data center. They have already experienced potential buyers deciding not to move in due to the center.

This large mega data center project will become an albatross to the village, just like the city of Chicago selling off the parking meters. Both of these projects were done without extensive community input. The center might have sounded good on paper with the thought of the additional tax revenue, but in reality it will be bad for the citizens, the environment and the village.

Cary Riske

Grayslake