Rockford, in Winnebago County, Illinois, adopted a data-center moratorium on November 1, 2025. Its status in this snapshot is in force.
The record reads: "Monarch Energy's proposed $12B, 800 MW data center on 1,100+ acres near Chicago-Rockford International Airport is advancing. Monarch Rock Air LLC was formed April 2025. On February 17, 2026, FERC accepted an agreement allowing Monarch Rock… (datacentertracker.org)."
Details
| Action | Class | Status | Date | MW threshold | Scope | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moratorium | restriction | in force | November 1, 2025 | not county-wide | datacentertracker.org |
Jurisdiction type: municipality. County: Winnebago County. Dataset: datacentertracker. Snapshot August 15, 2026; documented actions, not a census.
Illinois context
Illinois has 23 documented local actions across 21 jurisdictions in this snapshot. At the state level, the state has an incentive rollback (in force, June 5, 2026).
A town that says no to a data center gives up local tax revenue, not jobs: one large campus pays $2M to $90M a year depending on the tax regime, against roughly 50 permanent jobs. The parent piece prices it and lists the conditions that beat a ban.