Pritzker Pausing Data Centers, Chicago’s Muddy Rain, and Backyard Chickens

Today on CityCash, Chicago, we're breaking down the future of data centers in Illinois, why the streets were so dusty, crusty this week, and asking, are you ready to vote? And if the answer is no, we got you. It's Friday, February 20th, I'm Jacoby Cochran, and this is what Chicago is talking about. I know I say it every Friday that I am joined by two amazing friends. And today, it is as true as it's ever been from the Invisible Institute. We've got the director of public strategy, Myra Quadra in the building. Myra, good to see you, my friend. Hello, hello. We've also got Pulitzer Prize winning director of Data, Trina Reynolds, Tyler, and the Builder. How are you feeling? I'm well. I'm well. I love saying that every single time. I'm not even going to hold you. To everybody who is listening today, welcome. We appreciate you making time for the podcast. If this is your first episode of the week, thank you. I appreciate you. I see you. If this is your first episode ever. Honestly, I can't be that nice. I've been here for five years. Where the hell you been? You just now finding us? You ain't talking to your friends? You ain't connected? You ain't on like that? Come on what you've been doing? All right. All right. Now, let me relax. Let me relax. I appreciate you being here as well. Go back. You don't have to catch up on all 1,200 plus episodes. Maybe just go listen to episodes from throughout this week. We're going to start off this conversation by bringing back up something we talked about on yesterday's pod, which is... Even though it doesn't always feel like, especially right now, there has been a lot to celebrate this week and this month from Black History Month, the start of Ramadan, Ramadan who bark, to all listeners who participate, Lunar New Year, 50 degree days, Marty Gras. I want to ask y'all what's one way you've celebrated or found joy this month, holiday or otherwise? Trina, I'm going to start with you. One of the several things that have brought me joy this month is actually a dinner I went to on Valentine's Day that was guided by Alashay, A-L-A-A-A-A-A-S-E, the Al-A-S-E collective. We had this, like, delicious West African dinner. It was talking up, really the mission is about, like, you know, the diasporic connections between folks, and I did not have a Valentine, so I paid for my little dinner with myself, and I thought, like, what am I going to do it? this dinner. Like, it's going to be all these couples, like, maybe I should bring a book. And then I ended up having, like, a wonderful conversation with, like, so many new people. And so that brought me a lot of joy. It felt like I felt like really enriched with community. Mm-hmm. I'm glad you took some time to go outside, spend some time with people, eat some good food. And I'm glad you didn't end up with in a corner with a book, but rather having conversation with folks that you didn't expect. Thank you, of course. Who is that? That is lovely. Come on. Mario, what is something that has been bringing you joy or a reason you found to celebrate the last couple of weeks?

Trina's answer actually just inspired me to share what I did on Valentine's Day. I also didn't have a Valentine's. And so I was like, okay, what can I do that will still be fun? That's like by myself. And I went to see this band called Do the Needful, which is a Bollywood Surf Rock cover band. Bollywood Surf Rock Cover Band is a mouthful. It sounds amazing. I got Skylark, and it was unbelievable. It was like my grandma's favorite Bollywood songs, and then my favorite Bollywood songs that I grew up dancing to in weddings, and it was like these rock versions of songs that I wish I had on vinyl, but they'll never be recorded in that way, copyright, so it felt really special. I ran into a friend from Karachi, who I forgot or didn't know was in town. It was really cool. Come on, that's beautiful. They threw Parley G cookies. Okay, I'm done. I'm done. No, no, no. That is joyful. It was really getting those cookies thrown, catching them. I felt like I was at a baseball game, catching a ball. That sounds better than just some basic old dinner in a movie. Y'all had a good-ass time on Valentine's Day. Yeah. We appreciate both of y'all being in the building with us today. We have talked about it twice in as many weeks on the show, and that's the future of data centers in Illinois. This is a big deal right now, especially as the states around us, Indiana and Wisconsin are in like a fast sprint to get as many data centers in their state as possible. And here in Illinois, on the one hand, Advocates of rushing these massive power and water-sucking behemots into the state are worried that our privacy laws are too intimidating for these companies. And on the other hand, residents hold communities warning about consequences of court in these centers without real consideration for their impacts. And folks want lawmakers to take a stance. And it seems like we may get some action from Governor J.B. Pritzker. Myra, catch us up here. Yeah, so this week, J.B. Pritzker announced a two-year pause on the state's tax incentives for data centers. So starting July 1st, the tax incentives that data center companies have been using will be paused. And he's saying that it's because we need to study the implications and impacts of these data centers. Now... I think the reason why this is good news is because it shows that the momentum and the mass pressure and unpopularity of these data centers, it's working. The organizing in Chicago, in Illinois, in the Midwest is making an impact. And J.B. Pritzker, we can assume, is likely wanting to run for president in 2028. He wants to stay in public office. I was going to ask, is this two years a coincidence in terms of timing? Not at all. Not at all. I mean, we see it in other states, too, in Pennsylvania. Governor Josh Shapiro is also now starting to say, like, we need to, you know, put more restrictions in place or be careful because they know they need to listen to the people that this is massively unpopular. So J.B. Pritzker's rhetoric was about affordability and electricity rates going up. And so I think.

It's a sign to keep the pressure on for the people who are really in this fight. It's working. So keep going. I mean, as we've talked about the proliferation of data centers on the podcast in the last few months, we were concerned about the position J.B. Pritzker to take. Of course, he had come out and said, hey, if they're not paying their fair share, if they're impacting home rates, which we're already seeing, our electricity bills are already going up because of these data centers. We're already concerned. uh and parts of the state about water usage we reported on one story in which they're considering maybe uh giving a data center one third of the water they're expected to get from the pipeline that'll bring fresh water from lake michigan uh into the to the collard counties and so like what it means for each individual township each individual community is different and i i wonder if you all believe that the state will go further than just a pause on tax incentives, but, you know, create some legislation that creates stronger guard rails. You know, right now the Power Act is making its way through the State House, like limits on water consumption, paying your fair share on the power. Do you think this is a sign that a bill like the Power Act is maybe in good position to pass? I think it's a sign that we're. Going in that direction, I think that there needs to be more people and more pressure to actually get something like the Power Act to go through because, of course, the lobby against it is going to be, you know, quite well strong and fierce, right? But yeah, I think I think it's possible that we see more than this. We know that governments, committees love to say we just need to study this thing longer when the reality is they already know. And so they love to hide behind a study. And so it's really important that we don't think of this as the win. Yes. But I do think it's possible to win more than just this two year pause. We are going to drop links in our show notes to the reporting around J.B. Pritzker's address. I want to stay with you, Trina. Plenty of Chicagoers woke up to find their cars and sidewalks covered in dust and ash. As my favorite IG meteorologist, can you explain why? So let me tell you about the ways that our collective. atmosphere, environment, it impacts one another. I too woke up and I was like, did it rain dirt? Like, am I talking? And like, I even talked to chef at builds. And he's like, well, maybe the dirt came from like when the rain came down and like. brought up dirt from the ground, but actually the dirt in the rain were residuals from a fire happening in Oklahoma, Kansas. These wildfires, you know, caught winds and the winds came through into Northern Illinois, into Indiana, and essentially coated us with a layer of mud. Yeah, a layer of mud.

before we hop through. My mama tried to hose down the car yesterday. And it literally, it dried off. It was still dirty. I said, wow. Too much. Nasty. Too much. I feel like for most of us born and raised in Chicago, the idea of wildfires was something. On the coast, right, particularly in California. We would watch it every wildfire season from our television. But the last few years, right, the sky turn orange, you got dust rain. Absolutely. This phenomena just speaks to the interconnectedness of like not only this nation, but also like the world from like, you know, these kinds of. natural disasters, whether it be wildfire or a hurricane, wildfire pushing dirt to us, a hurricane sending us climate refugees. Like we are going to more and more see either the migration of people or actually feel the, you know, these kind of like atmospheric impacts of. things like wildfires. I mean, you've even seen more northern lights. Like there are more geomagnetic storms. I don't know if there are more happening, but what I can say is that like when we're seeing northern lights in the city of Chicago, it's because there was a solar flare that spit out, you know, some stuff and it came flying at the earth. like millions of miles at a time and like and in this lifetime like we are seeing more and more like you said of these different kinds of whether it is space weather or like earth weather impacting the way that people are moving, migrating into our city and also like, right, like some of the dust storms in it. So the other piece is like the water in Chicago is like we are near the large, one of the largest, you know, bodies of fresh water, you know, in not only in the country, but like also. you know, in the world. It's like, it's like when people are seeking fresh water, when things continue to dry up, as things continue to dry up, and infrastructure begins to break down in Texas because they're not used to the cold or whatever, all of the things, it's like more and more people will flock to Chicago seeking refuge. And so we for sure should be on the lookout around. around these phenomena. So I'm hearing that we're going to have more geomagnetic beauty and more dukey rain. Thousand percent. Okay. Thousand percent. And I also appreciate how both of the stories y'all talked about are very much connected. Like people are having this increased amount of scrutiny around the quantum campus, around the proliferation of these hyperscale data centers, not only because noise complaints, not only because people are asking you, is this the best use of our space, but also because the...

the scale at which these drink up fresh water, right? You can't use anything but fresh water to cool these servers unless you go through a more complicated wastewater treatment process, which some companies are willing to do and others are not. And so especially if they're in a place that doesn't have the same type of guardrails or the same type of community pressure. And so we have to start thinking about these. investments in our city and state or we need to pressure lawmakers to be thinking about these investments with a long-term lens, right? You can talk about data centers as a way to plug current budget holes, but it doesn't really get to the long-term impact that they will likely have on our people. In addition to being world-class journalists and organizers in this beautiful city of ours, you all both run TM productions, encouraging Chicagoans to vote. Go out and exercise a right. That was hard for it. And y'all have an event coming up this weekend as the primary day creeps up on us and early voting is now open. Break down the details from me. Jump in both y'all. Yeah, so this Sunday at First Presbyterian Church, which is on 64th in Kim Bark, we will be hosting a lunch where we will be preparing our ballots together because we are also not ready to vote yet. This election sprung up on us. And so to navigate this very long ballot that includes the primary elections for the governor, senator, state representatives, so many things. Judges. Water reclamation. Right. Oh my gosh. The list keeps going. We will be joined by two researchers, for lack of a better word, that I really appreciate as resources that I often turn to. Stephanie Scora from the Girl I Guess voter guide that a lot of people use. And Carlos Bellisteros, who is a journalist at Injustice Watch, who does a lot of reporting for their judicial voting guide. So we're excited to learn about how they research for these really complex, in-depth guides. And we will be as a group going through our ballot ready. Ballot ready is a tool where you can get a preview of your ballot and fill it out. So the hope is to get together in person and get the ball rolling. We need it, so we assume other people need it too. Yeah, we established TM. in 2018 and really it was like oh like these young people we were working with young people were like these young people like they're voting for the very first time like how do we, what are we, what can we learn from their experiences as first time voters, as the way that they're treated in the polls, you know, as the information, you know, the, the impact of their families voting history and like voting practices and, um, and then also just like in conversation about like.

What kind of voter do you want to be? And so it's been interesting. It's been a long time we've been working in this kind of arena. And it's, you know, it's helped me to become a better, more informed voter personally and to be less intimidating. For sure. I would also add that this series is part of a monthly series, that Market Box, Mutual Aid Project based in that church. hosts. So every month, there's a different expert from within our community presenting on something that is relevant and helps equip our community to just be more proactive people. I dropped the link to the event in our good news earlier this week, but I'm going to do it again today in our show notes. I mean, Y'all been doing this for eight years now. That's multiple presidential elections, mayoral elections. Like, what's one of the biggest things you've learned? It has anything changed about maybe the young people you all work with and their positionality towards going into the booth? I feel like there has been a trend. Like there was a time where there was like, boom, like all these young voters are coming out the woodworks. And then people were like really talking a lot about young voters, young voters, young voters. But honestly. In this moment, this season, I have no idea. I don't know. I don't know what the young people... And I feel like that's a big part of just us having this event and talking to people. Like, we're just getting started, really. It's just to see, like, what has changed. Because I think that, like, people are so overstimulated and there are so many things on the balance. I would say that the biggest thing that I've learned is... that when we first started, I was really trying to understand how the young people that we were taking to vote, how they already felt so disempowered by their government and that their vote would not matter. There was, you know, strong belief in, like, conspiracies controlling everything. There was... There is just this... Which have only gotten in some respects proven true. More validated, right? But specifically feeling already like they were living under a fascist government. And the past eight years has actually been about watching the rest of the country catch up to the young people. And I think that has been really humbling because... We are, you know, we are basically figuring out how to talk about participating in this process that is undoubtedly a sham in so many ways, right? Like, it is increasingly getting harder to vote.

If you're trying to vote by mail, for example, postmarking your ballot is no longer when you drop it in the mailbox. A lot of people don't know that. So if they drop it in on election day, like they used to be able to, there is a good chance that your ballot won't count. So like things like that, watching this stuff break down even more and figuring out now, okay, what does it look like for us to help people engage in a process that at this point, we're engaging solely for... the hope of being able to reclaim it and reshape it and not allow it to completely collapse. I can only imagine how difficulty it is, especially trying to get people to rally around the primary because we talk about it all the time, right? We're a Democratic supermajority state. I can understand someone thinking, there are 13 candidates running in my district. I'm going to just wait until it gets whittled down to 1v1. I'm going to just wait until it in. But unfortunately, in your district, this may be. the moment in which the individual is chosen, who you had the most saying, who may be your representative, good or bad. And so you talk about being overstimulated and overwhelmed in this moment. And then you pull up and you live in the seventh and it's 13 people or the ninth and it's 25 people. And it's, this is actually a really difficult place to start. And so I really am appreciative of the work y'all doing, trying to. make this as accessible to people as possible, given all of the attacks on voting, the ways it's made more difficult for us in Illinois and around the country. I'm very curious what people care about as it relates to voting this year. I think they're like we speak about being so overwhelmed, but I feel like there are some like things in our lives, everyday lives that people are being impacted by. And so I am curious like for you as someone who's talking to people all the time, like what do you think people care about? As it relates to voting, I feel like, you know, people are crime, affordability, like Palestine, Epstein. Like, what was your hypothesis on, like, what will drive voters this year? I'm concerned that Palestinian liberation, sort of fighting back against ICE and border patrol is more likely to overwhelm people and keep them in the house because those are topics that. Even our current officials have shown either a resistance to or a lack of authority or power to do something against. And so I feel like those issues are making people feel even more powerless in this moment. Like you've had the governor and the mayor be two of the strongest opponents to violence and fascism of it all. And yet. people continue to be kidnapped, shot and killed. I do think affordability is kind of the game right now and just the reality of people's lives. And we saw it even with J.B. Pritzker's speech this week about this tax incentive pause. His messaging was entirely about affordability. He knows that that's what works, is what worked in New York with that mayoral election, right? When it comes to military and ICE, I think you're right that people feel

really powerless in terms of like what voting can do for that exactly But, you know, like, when I think about affordability and this, like, straight-of-form moves, like, I do think about the global supply chain and, like, how that is connected to affordability, too. And, you know, I think a lot of times people are not necessarily drawing the connections between, like, you know, you actually get a lot of the things in your day-to-day from these other places. That's why the tariffs were such a big thing. And it's, like, it's one thing for us to be talking about things to be more expensive because, like, are applied, but there's a whole other genre of like horror and issues when it's that we are not even able to access the products or afford them. I think that's why affordability will probably remain at the forefront because like every other topic, there is a sort of broader. like global context, right, sort of a systemic historical context, sort of, you know, you can't talk about affordability without talking about anti-blackness, but you can talk about affordability in a way that's like, your groceries are expensive. You can't afford to go to college. Your home is expensive. No one's going to talk about the larger international context of that. And so I think politicians can get away with staying on the surface because it is such a day-to-day, the bus is getting more expensive. The- the eggs are getting more expensive, clothes. And so it's for that reason. I think it'll be the easiest way to connect to your average voters. I would like to think that some people will vote based on what's happening in Venezuela and Cuba and not wanting the U.S. to so aggressively expand its imperial powers. But I do think that. Unfortunately, the average American voter isn't voting based on that. I think we're like, we're really just sort of see just ourselves. You know, we've got to end every single episode of CityCast Chicago the exact same way. And that is with... Of course, me begging you to bring your ass back here for the next episode. Like, seriously, I can't keep doing this if y'all don't keep pulling up and listening. But before I do that, you know, I got to give you some good news. Trina, what is your good news for us today? Okay, so my good news is very local. I have... officially been a chicken owner for two years. And when I talked to you when you got them little babies. Thank you. Thank you. When I initially got them, I got them as pullets. So they were like teenage chickens, not yet laying eggs, but also.

They had, they were growing their adult feathers. They started laying eggs. They live in my backyard. They have a lot of space. I love them very much. They're juicy. They made it through the winter. Like, um, and they're just very, hold on. Hold on. Hold on. You just threw juicy in there. You talk. They're dual perfect. They are dual purpose chickens because we're in the city of Chicago. If you're going to make it through the cold, you got to have some meat on your bones. And so I specifically, you know, I was very mindful about what kind of chickens I would get. I have a Coronation Sussex, Lavender Orpington, a malign chicken, and a red lace windot, two wyandots, two Coronation Sussex, a lavender orpinson, and a malign chicken. All that's to say is I just wanted to give a shout out to like growing season and just like... like urban ag in general. I feel like there are a lot of different things that exist in the city of Chicago, Urban Growers Collective, Greater Girl Inglewood. I shop with Earthseed Chicago. They're like a Chicago-based worker-owned garden installation and landscape business that provides skilled services by Black and Brown land stewards. And they like hook my garden up. Obviously, as a chicken owner, you know, I think a part of my... My mix is that, you know, I have some green. I started with leafy greens and things. And then I, you know, I elevated to chickens. And so that's a part of my good news is that two years, two years down. Are you going to share the good news about what's going to happen with the chickens? Well, I have come to a decision point. The chickens. For a very long time, I've decided I'm like, we will kill the chickens and eat them. Someone will kill them and eat them and we will eat them because this is the circle of life in many ways. And like I feel like many of us have such a disconnect from the food we eat. And so, and that was a big part of me gardening too. It's like I love to watch it grow. I love it and how it nourishes my body. I'm like, I grew this. And chickens live really horrible lives. Like most of the chicken that you're eating, it's like. Horrible. And so I got an organic pasture raised, you know, happy chickens in my backyard. And I will eat them. They will nourish your community. I will, they will be killed. I will, for my birthday, be having a roast. My friends are going to roast me. And we will roast the chickens. Oh, my God, I need to be. I need something. I need that. I need that. You're invited to the world. I'll make sure to see the... Please do. Please do. That is wonderful. What's the biggest thing you've learned in these two years? Because I know you're going to do this again in the next season. Like, what's been the biggest thing you've learned over these two years? Well, I've learned that a lot of people are fascinated, want more chickens in Chicago. Like, I feel like...

my neighbors became a part of, like, the stewarding of the chickens. Like, when I would go out of town, like, neighbors would, you know, come and feed the chickens. I also, there was a time where, like, Sage got out and was, like, running on 70 nights for days, for two days at least. For two days at least. Hey, y'all see that chicken on a nun? Literally, we're walking around canvas and asking the barbershop, like, Oh, like, you know, has anyone seen a chicken? He's like, was she white? It was white? Yeah, I've seen it. In 3 p.m., I'm like putting the piece together. My neighbor ultimately is the person who she was outside. She found, she came to my door. She was like, I found the chicken. I'm like, you know, went out there and picked it up. You got to scoop them like a hamburger holding wings down. We just, and when I put her back in a coop, the whole coop was silent because they were like. We thought you were a goner, you know? We thought you got up out of here. I've learned there's a big interest in people. I've learned about freshness of eggs. Like, fresh eggs are so delicious. It is, it feels like such a gift when I give them to people. And I've learned that it's not a very, it's not super smelly and it's not super hard. And, like, that I've learned to not be so afraid, like to reduce my fear of, like, engaging in like life itself. Like, you know, I'm looking at them from my room and they're just like living and they're in this flock and they have this pattern of existing and I'm like, dang, like, and I'm looking down at them and they don't know that I'm looking at them, but I can see them, you know, and their life. And I think like, what does that even mean for human life? Like, and like, you know, what are the ways, I guess surveillance is probably not the best. God complex. My goodness, but maybe more of God Complex. It's like, it's like, you know, what is, what is it that is looking at us, that is studying us, that is watching us, like, as we do our thing and follow our, like, everyday patterns without our own awareness of those patterns that we're participating in, but with the awareness of this other, other, other non-human thing. Damn, y'all so cold. I'm so happy for you. Learning you had chickens a couple years ago, I'm pretty sure inspired us to do our episode where we sat down to learn what do you have to do to own chickens, what are sort of the rules and regulations in the city. And we learned it's pretty open and fair game as long as you, you know, make sure you're taking care of them. You have the right materials. And so if somebody just listening to this inspired to start their own journey, I want you to know, it is possible in the city of Chicago and not just on a nine. Lucky Harals ain't found your shit. Mara, over to you. What is your good news for us today? My good news is about all the wonderful stuff happening in Chicago for Ramadan, which some people started yesterday. Some people started today. If you were moonsider, it started today. And there's a few ifhtars that I'm really excited about. The one that I really want to shout out is planned by Chicago Dyke March, and it's going to be at Haymarket House on March 14th from 6 to 9 p.m. It's open to all.

So even if you're not Muslim but curious, I think that would be a fun place to explore. And so you can go to Chicago Dyke March Collective and an RSVP through them. You can also, if you're curious about Ramadan and how it goes, Talif, which is in Pilsen, T-A-L-E-E-F, they host a lot of stuff for newcomers to the faiths. So they have like Tuesday night things, Thursday night things. And it's just a really welcoming space. You can ask any question, most 101 thing. I really enjoy it a lot. So yeah, that's my good news. Closing out our good news today, soundtrack sessions presented by Shug and Jam is going down tonight at Drip Collective with a special screening of Moonlight featuring, come on y'all, a live string section during the movie. You don't just got to pull up on the Chicago Symphony for that, right? If you can't make it tonight, next Friday, they're running it back with a screening of Crooklyn featuring a live jam session. Spots are filling up fast, so I'll drop a link for you in the show notes. And if you can make it, Pull up. Shout out Shawnee Des and Kenneth Lefridge. I knew y'all like that. I knew y'all like that. I know how to play K my guess. As always, I appreciate y'all so much for making time for the podcast. From the Invisible Institute, Director of Public Strategy, Myra Quadra. I appreciate you. Thank you. And Pulitzer Prize winning director of Data, Trina Reynolds, Tyler. In honor.

One more thing before we get out of here, please join me in thanking the entire team behind CityCast Chicago. Our executive producer is Simone Alisea. Our producer is Michelle Navarro. Our newsletter editor is Emmy Mac. Our social media manager is Rick Hometh. Post-production by Jesse Phil Weiser. The music we love is from Sam Thousand, All the Camonos, and Mark Greenberg from the Mayfair Workshop. Additional music by Sarah the instrumentalist, courtesy of Epidemic Sound. This week I have a special favor to ask you. The good folks over here at CityCast have dropped a brand new podcast. Your city could be better. Every single week you are going to hear from host David Plotz and a host from across the Citicast network. Meaning eventually your boy going to be on the podcast as well. And we're just talking about different things that are happening around the country, ways that cities are dealing with the challenges facing them. And just different ways people are trying to, of course, make their city a little bit better amidst all of the chaos and confusion that's going on every single day. The new episode this week lands in your feeds on Sunday. So please check out the podcast feed. Follow it on Instagram. And again, you know, stay tuned because your boy is going to pop up on there real, real soon to talk all things Chicago. We're going to be back bright and early next week. We'll talk to you then. Peace.