The People of Little Rock Township in Kendall County adopted a resolution calling for all future commercial data center proposals within the township be put directly before voters for their approval.

According to the resolution adopted at a township meeting in Plano on May 5, any commercial data center on public or commercial property must receive approval by township voters through a special election following completion of review processes.

Around 15,000 residents call the township home across nearly 35 square miles. The township includes the city of Plano and the eastern edge of Sandwich. It also contains the unincorporated community of Little Rock.

The township is governed by an elected board of trustees and elected township supervisor.

The resolution states that the referendum is intended to “guard against the pernicious influence of private interest upon public measures,” especially the temptations officials face with “private emolument (or) special privileges or immunity in permitting commercial data centers.”

It further states that the special election ensures that “the people themselves render the final decision, after full disclosure, on whether commercial data centers on public and commercial property are for the general public good and benefit the whole community.”

A large Microsoft data center project in Plano was halted in June 2025. Microsoft was the one who decided to pull the plug on the plans.

Microsoft originally purchased around 500 acres of land west of Eldamain Road, north of the ComEd transmission lines, for the purpose of construction a large data center campus.

The city of Plano annexed the agricultural property in 2024, before rezoning it to manufacturing for data center construction.

In neighboring Yorkville, the City Council has approved three large data center campuses, including the 1,034-acre Project Cardinal, the 540-acre Project Steel, and the 228-acre CyrusOne data center.

The city was originally entertaining around a dozen different data center development plans before abruptly announcing the City Council had “no more appetite” for them.

This announcement came in the face of several consecutive city meetings with angry residents voicing their concerns about the manufacturing behemoths being built near their homes.

Several Yorkville residents have united to form a community-based organization, Preserve Our Yorkville & Community LLC to file lawsuits against the city to halt data center construction.

The lawsuit lists the city of Yorkville and Pioneer Development LLC, the developers behind the Project Cardinal data center, with 14 warehouses across 17 million square feet.

State Rep. Jed Davis, R-Yorkville, who recently came out against data centers in Yorkville because he said the public overwhelming opposes their construction, introduced House Bill 5755 to require a public referendum before a municipality approves a data center project.

Davis said the referendums would ensure local residents have a “direct voice” in the decision-making process.

You can follow the bill’s progress at www.billtrack50.com/billdetail/2001395