Madison County Board Bars Data Centers From Receiving Tax Incentives
Date Posted: October 27, 2026
Posted In: News,
From St. Louis Public Radio: Madison County lawmakers have barred data center developers from seeking certain tax incentives.
Members of the county board voted Wednesday to exclude data centers from property tax incentives through Illinois’ enterprise zone program, which aims to stimulate economic growth in struggling parts of the state.
Projects that get the incentives receive 10-year property tax abatements that then phase out. Granite City, Madison and Venice currently have projects in the program.
“There’s no need to incentivize a data center,” said board Chairman Chris Slusser. “They’re (developers) eager to build them.”
The board amended rules for the Southwestern Madison County Enterprise zone to exclude data centers. Slusser said the county hopes to pursue similar restrictions in nearby zones.
The Madison County discovery zone includes Collinsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Troy, St. Jacob and Highland.
The decision comes as several developers eye the Metro East for data center development. Currently, developers are looking at Granite City and Pontoon Beach.
Just this week, the developer behind a planned data center in Midtown St. Louis announced plans to build one at the site of the former Alton Steel mill. The developer, TerraWatt, said it wouldn’t seek any tax incentives.