Illinois Data Center Bill Eyed for January Passage

House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel hopes lawmakers will pass House Bill 5513 during the lame duck session in early 2026.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Data Centers

Bold flat-color editorial illustration of cooling units and a substation on open prairie with transmission towers receding toward the horizon. — Illinois House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel is pushing House Bill 5513 to bar cost shifting to consumers and require data centers to power their own operations. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Should data centers be required to pay their own energy costs instead of passing them to households?

Illinois House Majority Leader Robyn Gabel is pushing House Bill 5513, which would bar cost shifting to consumers and require data centers to power their own operations. Lawmakers aim to pass the measure in the lame duck session beginning in early January 2026.

Why it matters

Gabel said the state wants to ensure data centers do not consume all state energy and leave consumers with higher bills. A pause on data center tax credits ordered by Governor Pritzker takes effect July 1, adding pressure for the legislation.

A study by the Illinois Economic Policy Institute and the Project for Middle Class Renewal found data center investments generate almost $300 million per year in property tax revenue. The figure is a projection over the next decade, and the bill's final terms are still being negotiated.

The players

Robyn Gabel

Gabel is an Illinois state representative and House Democratic leader who serves as chief sponsor of House Bill 5513 and has long championed energy and consumer protections.

JB Pritzker

Pritzker is the Governor of Illinois who ordered a pause on data center tax credits and expects a regulatory bill to be ready for the fall veto session.

The details

House Bill 5513, chiefly sponsored by State Rep. Robyn Gabel, would prohibit cost shifting to consumers, require data centers to power their own operations and provide clean energy incentives. The Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition and the Citizens Utility Board support the measure, while labor unions, business groups, manufacturers and the Illinois State Association of Counties opposed a similar POWER Act last spring.

April 2025: Gabel said lawmakers would pass the POWER Act at a Chicago news conference.
Spring 2025: Lawmakers failed to approve the POWER Act.
July 1, 2025: Pritzker's pause of data center tax credits takes effect.
Nov. 17, 2025: Fall veto session scheduled to begin.
Early January 2026: Lame duck session targeted for passing the data center bill.

Roadmap

House Bill 5513 is a successor to the POWER Act, which stalled in spring 2025 after opposition from labor unions, business groups and manufacturers. The revived effort reflects Illinois's attempt to regulate data center energy demand before the projected tax revenue and utility costs grow further.

If enacted, House Bill 5513 would aim to keep data center energy costs from being passed on to residential utility customers. Residents may also see effects through the property tax revenue data centers generate for local governments.

The takeaway

Illinois residents should watch the lame duck session in January 2026, when House Bill 5513 may determine whether data centers must pay their own energy costs. The outcome could shape future utility bills and local tax revenue.

What happens next

Lawmakers are expected to take up the data center bill during the lame duck session beginning in early January 2026, and a regulatory bill is expected to be ready for the fall veto session starting Nov. 17.