Photo submitted by Illinois Freedom Caucus.
IL Freedom Caucus: Hypocrisy of environmental extremist groups on full display in datacenter debate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2026
Springfield, IL – Environmental groups are weighing in on the datacenter debate revealing their glaring double standard when it comes to local control, according to the Illinois Freedom Caucus.
According to recent news reports, Sierra Club Illinois Executive Director Jack Darin stated: “We fully support the rights of communities to say no [to data centers], communities should be able to make their own decisions about whether they want them at all.”
This is a standard the Sierra Club refuses to afford communities when it comes to the development of solar projects.
The Illinois Freedom Caucus is issuing the following statement:
“If it were not for double standards, environmental extremist groups like the Sierra Club would have no principles at all. Local governments absolutely should have a say in whether a datacenter gets built in their communities, but they should also get a say when it comes to solar projects as well – something groups like the Sierra Club would deny them. Thanks to Governor JB Pritzker working arm in arm with radical environmentalist groups, county boards have no local control when it comes to solar farms. Now Pritzker and his allies suddenly care about local control?
The Sierra Club’s opposition to natural gas as a viable option to power datacenters is also more double speak from these extremists. They will not be satisfied until thousands of acres of viable farmland are used to build datacenters powered by tens of thousands of solar panels. Their pie in the sky solutions are not only delusional – they are dangerous and must be rejected.”
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