A proposal to build a $20bn data center outside Chicago has been recommended for approval by the Joliet planning commission.

The commission this week voted in favor of recommending the annexation of a 795-acre land parcel surrounding S. Rowell Road and Bernhard Road; the rezoning of that parcel for light industrial use; and a preliminary planned unit development.

These requests relate to the so-called ‘Joliet Technology Center’, which would consist of 24 two-story data center buildings, each offering 144,500 sq ft (13,425 sqm) of floor space.

This would be built in four phases, with each phase accompanied by the construction of a six-acre substation.

Development will be handled by data center firm PowerHouse Data Centers.

The campus will offer up to 1.8GW of capacity, according to estimates made by the applicant PowerHouse Hillwood Holding, and it will “secure and pay for its own electricity, independent of residential or small-business service,” according to the staff report.

The report adds that the data center would also generate $310 million in property taxes and $40m in utility taxes over 30 years without taking any economic incentives or tax abatements.

Hillwood claims that it will generate around $2.1bn in local tax revenue, as stated on a website for the campus called ‘Yes to Joliet Jobs’.

But hundreds of residents turned up to the Planning Commission in opposition to the campus, and dozens chose to speak, dragging the meeting on for several hours, according to reports by local outlets.

The fate of the project now rests in the hands of the Joliet City Council, which will make its decision on March 16.

The data center project was first proposed in October 2025. But delays and postponements meant that the proposal was only considered in March.

Hillwood Holding is part of the Perot family of companies, which are entities linked to businessman and former presidential hopeful Ross Perot.

Founded in 2022, PowerHouse is a wholly-owned division of American Real Estate Partners. The company has projects in operation and development across Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, Kentucky, Indiana, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. The company’s pipeline reportedly totals more than 6GW of capacity.

Joliet is located around 40 miles southwest of Chicago, and south of Aurora, both of which are Illinois' major data center markets.