Patrick McNamara: Will hesitation on data centers cost JB Pritzker in 2028 presidential bid?

What do U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the state of Texas and Pope Leo XIV all have in common? All three are encouraging a slowdown in artificial intelligence and data center development. In the meantime, while data centers grow into a wildfire of bipartisan unpopularity in Illinois, Gov. JB Pritzker continues to shift responsibility to the Illinois legislature and delay any definitive action to slow data centers besides cutting tax incentives. While this won't hurt him in his reelection campaign this fall, it could be crippling baggage in a Democratic presidential bid in 2028. Despite early polls, Pritzker has a strong case for a 2028 bid as a candidate on three major pillars: 1. Pritzker balances a progressive agenda with economic growth, leaning on his business success, which can appeal to independents in the general election. 2. He can build a strong Midwestern coalition that can have an edge in key swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. 3. Lastly, Pritzker can self-fund his campaign and raise a war chest for other Democrats. However, Pritzker's hesitance to deploy a comprehensive solution to data centers could be his Achilles' heel in the primaries. While the old adage says slow is smooth and smooth is fast, Illinois is lagging far behind progressive states such as New York and Maine that have passed moratoriums on data centers. Even swing states such as Pennsylvania have adopted stricter, commonsense policies such as banning nondisclosure agreements and protecting energy bills. Beyond that, Illinois has now fallen behind Republican states such as Texas that have paused to assess data centers' effect on the state's energy grid. And Darren Bailey, the Republican candidate for governor in Illinois, is breaking away from President Donald Trump to resist a data center blitzkrieg on Illinois' natural resources. Alongside the Iran war and affordability issues, data centers are arguably the most important issue of this election cycle, and one of the only issues with bipartisan support, especially in Illinois. Pritzker recently said: 'I don't think specifically that we ought to be giving away or selling off a bunch of farmland for data centers. … We're not going to have these massive campuses. That's not something that right now, anyway, is even possible in the state of Illinois.' Yet, in Illinois, massive data center backlash and lawsuits are tearing across the state in places such as Grayslake, Joliet and my own hometown, Yorkville, where one of the largest data campuses in the world is planned. Republicans and Democrats alike are getting boosts from being opposed to data centers. In some cases, such as in Abilene, Texas, 60% of the jobs that data centers create are filled by nonlocal labor, and 90% of the jobs can be nonpermanent. If Pritzker can't handle data centers in his own backyard, will Americans trust him to handle them everywhere? Pritzker needs to change course quickly, or else he'll enter the primaries as a laggard on the issue of data centers. With a recent Gallup poll showing that 75% of Democrats are opposed to data centers being built near them, presidential hopefuls will be jockeying to position themselves as the one who was against data centers earliest and most often. It's a bad look as a progressive candidate to move slower than Texas and the Vatican. A single policy can be a lightning rod in a crowded primary field. Andrew Yang stood out in 2020 because of his policy on universal basic income, and in 2016, Trump stood out by focusing on building a border wall. Any candidate who can provide a novel and popular solution to data centers will benefit from a strong track record on a hot-button issue. For Pritzker or whoever prevails, the golden ticket could be a strong policy on data centers. If Pritzker doesn't lay down a moratorium soon and a comprehensive overhaul after that, he'll be back in Chicago drinking Malört after the Iowa primary in 2028.