How some DeKalb residents are mobilizing to push local government for greater transparency over data centers
Clara Robinson is an educator-turned-journalist, having spent 5 years teaching in Naperville’s public schools before transitioning to reporting. She earned her Master’s in Education from Loyola University Chicago and now focuses on the intersection of education policy and community impact.
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A DeKalb alderwoman says she will ask the mayor to back a moratorium on new data centers, after a resident group pressed Wednesday for Aurora-style rules on transparency and water use. It all comes after months of community opposition to the City Council’s decision in December 2025 to allow a second data center. Since then, DeKalb residents have been taking steps to mobilize, hoping to stop the city from considering the development of more data centers in industrial areas at least until local regulations are implemented. Acting on one of the calls to action out of the meeting was DeKalb 1st Ward Alderwoman Carolyn Zasada. She said she plans to approach DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes about the idea of enacting a moratorium on data centers and trying to get his buy-in to create some local regulations to hold developers behind data centers accountable. “If I could get Cohen’s buy-in, that would be very valuable,” Zasada said. “That would be everything.” The group’s efforts also had the backing