Democratic state Rep. Nabeela Syed defeated Republican state Sen. Darby Hills in Illinois’ 26th Senate District, a Republican-held seat whose candidates offered competing data center policies.
The National reported that Syed won 57% of the Nov. 3 vote to Hills’ 43%. The districtwide result has not been certified.
Illinois General Assembly records list Syed as the representative for House District 51, a position she has held since January 2023. Hills was appointed to the Senate seat Feb. 28, 2025, after former state Sen. Dan McConchie resigned.
Before the vote, the candidates outlined different approaches to data center rules. Syed’s campaign called for developers to pay costs linked to their electricity demand and disclose energy use, water consumption and noise impacts. Hills sought greater local authority over where data centers are built, their water use and the noise they generate.
Gov. JB Pritzker has also put the costs of data center development before state lawmakers. At his direction, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity halted reviews of applications for the state’s data center tax incentives starting July 1. The program offers tax exemptions to qualifying operators and a construction wage tax credit for eligible projects.
Pritzker’s proposal would make operators responsible for added demands their facilities place on electricity and water systems. He has asked lawmakers to address data center policy during their veto session, which the Illinois House calendar schedules to begin Nov. 17.
