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Ownbey: Suit over data center meets 90-day window

Ownbey: Suit over data center meets 90-day window

FILE - These Sangamon County residents oppose the county board's approval of a data center, April 7, 2026 Photo: Saga Communications/Dave Dahl


Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) – A lawsuit some Waverly area residents have filed against Sangamon County over the county board’s decision to allow a data center to be built was a subject of Springfield Business Journal executive editor Michelle Ownbey’s weekly visit to the WTAX Morning Newswatch.

“In the category of ‘nobody is particularly surprised by this,’ a group of residents who live about a mile or less from the site recently approved for the CyrusOne data center have filed a lawsuit against Sangamon County and the Sangamon County Board, seeking to overturn the county’s approval of the project,” said Ownbey. “They filed that lawsuit on July 6. That was not a coincidence; there is an Illinois zoning law that says any county board decision related to zoning can be subject to fresh judicial review as long as the action is taken no later than ninety days after the decision. Apri 7 was when it was finally approved by the Sangamon County Board, so July 6 was the last day to file that lawsuit.”

Ownbey talks business Thursday mornings on the WTAX Morning Newswatch.

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