Power of six o'clock. Having arrived the board will come to order. Invocation by Miss Douglas Williams. Pledge of allegiance by Mr. Cra. Always pray to have eyes that see the best in people, a heart that forgives the worst,
a mind that forgets the bad, and a soul that never loses faith in God. No matter what life may bring, please believe in these two things. You're stronger than you may imagine, and you are never alone. Thank you, God.
Statesy and justice for all. >> The clerk will call the role. Pierce >> Camman >> Constant >> Davskco >> Diner >> Deljouro
>> Depy >> here >> Williams >> Foresight >> Frzy >> Bulgenzi >> here >> Gayton >> here >> Paul >> Carell >> Lean >> Mona >> here >> Magguire >> Menhal
>> Miller >> here >> Raider >> here >> Scman Shepherd >> small I'm sorry I couldn't hear you. Now I do. Stump >> Thomas >> Chumlin
>> Trux >> and the chairman's present. All 29 present. >> Thank you Mr. Clerk. Um, as long some long-erving board members will know, we have a uh infamous tradition at the county board that if
you have the grave misfortune to have your birthday fall on the evening of a county board meeting, the the slightly offkey county board choir will sing to the birthday boy, "Happy birthday." And our our our
illustrious county clerk, Don Gray, is turning 29 today. >> 29 today. >> So, if you will, if the slightly offkey county board choir will join me, please sing happy birthday. >> Happy birthday to you.
>> Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear. Happy birthday to you. >> Mo most people have the good sense to be sick on their birthday if it if it
>> no such >> um proclamations. The chair's aware of no proclamations, but we do have a presentation this evening from Mr. Josh Zbo, president of Hartland House. I saw Josh
earlier. Oh, there he is. Okay. Sorry, Josh. I know he has a slide deck as well. And I know Josh has a lot of good news to report, a lot of good work being done at Harland
House. Josh, you can adjust the uh this D. So, so yeah, so the microphone is >> nice. How's everyone doing this evening? >> If I did not pass out enough of those,
let me know and I can make sure. I missed one on that. I was worried about that. >> Did you get one? Did I short it on your own? Okay, Mary, if you want to pass it over there. All right. Well, everyone, I wanted to
come and just share for a few moments about the work of H Heartland House. Uh, just a little bit of context. I know we we uh usually get to come before you each year and then we see you other times throughout the year, but Hartland House was established at the end of our strategic planning process uh to to figure out how to better address
homelessness as a community. And one of the findings is that as a community, we really lacked um infrastructure in the form of a backbone organization. Uh so we really didn't have an organization that was taking the lead on setting strategy uh measuring if we were doing well or not doing well. Uh identifying
gaps and figuring out how to fill those. And so at the conclusion of the strategic plan, Hartland House was developed to be that backbone organization for our community. And uh so now we are a few years into that effort. And so what you have before you
is um kind of a 2025 year in review. Uh it talks about some of the things that have taken place. It also talks about some of the challenges and then some of what we hope to accomplish this year. And then the slide deck we'll show you will kind of lead us through that as well. So wanted to start with a few things that we're we're really excited
about, really proud about uh over the course of the last few years. Um this slide shows you the growth in positive exits from our homelessness system. So, uh, we always like to go back to 2019 as sort of a a good measure of where we
were before our community began to to work strategically together. Uh, it also gets us pre- pandemic. So, it shows us just a little bit of of where we were so we can see where we are. In 2019, our system was able to help 94 people exit homelessness. Now, some of that was to
supportive housing programs. Some of that was helping people get income and go out and find a home on their own. Uh, one of the things that the strategic plan uh, clearly identifies in towards the end of 2022 is that our community was severely lacking in the ability to
help people exit our system. So, we had shelter uh, we had needs for shelter that were growing and growing and as a community we really didn't create those exits so that people could leave shelter and really began to rebuild their lives from the stability of housing. And so, the years since then that's been really
the the overarching uh focus of our organization of the continuum of care. How do we create more positive exits to the homelessness system? Uh there are two key programs that do that. Uh both of them pair case management with uh rental subsidy and so those case
managers are working with families and individuals and helping them to increase their income, helping them to access benefits and health care healthcare and other other things that they need to rebuild their lives. So, we we've seen steady growth. In 2023, uh that was the year that the state of Illinois um
created a program called Home Illinois. And so, we saw funding coming into the community begin to increase. And then in the two years since, uh we've we've um again built a system that is more effective. In 2025 was the first year that we uh surpassed 400 people that
were helped to exit homelessness and and reenter permanent housing, whether through a program or or whether through employment and finding a unit. So, uh, that's something we're proud about. When you look at the strategic plan, it tells you that as a community that we need to be somewhere around 765 each year in
terms of the number of people we're helping to exit the system. So, even though we're seeing growth and we're seeing improvement, we still have a significant uh, ways to go. Another when we stood before you last year, one of the things that we said we were hoping to achieve uh, is what's called quality data. Uh, Community
Solutions is an organization that works with communities across the country and uh, this year our our community became the 11th in the country to reach quality data uh, for all single person households uh, those that are chronically homeless veterans and uh, so that's that's something we're really
excited about. our team got to go to Denver uh for the annual uh conference and and got to learn from other communities and that was a great opportunity for us to to figure out how to keep moving forward the data you know reaching that quality data status it as a community it really doesn't mean a
whole lot unless we're using that data. So one of the things that we want to make sure you know is available to you when you go to our website hartlandhouse.org Uh there is um under the tab what we do is a dashboard called the the built for zero dashboard. Uh it has uh several
different metrics on it but one of it is monthly inflow and outflow into our system. So one of the things that we're looking at is monthly how many people became homeless and how many people exited the system. And as a community um you know part of what you're seeing here the top bar is inflow uh the bottom uh
lighter blue is outflow. And so one of the things that you can see going back to December of 2024, over the last 12 months, we had eight months where outflow uh was more than inflow, right? So more people exited homelessness than became homeless. Uh we had four months
where more people became homeless than exited the system. And so that just gives you an idea of as a community that's it's progress, right? We're moving in the right direction. We want every month for that uh outflow number to be higher. Uh but we're seeing again uh more often than ever before we're
we're helping more people exit the system than enter. And so to reach our goals, we've got to keep that progress moving forward. Another project from 2025 was the 100 day veteran challenge. Uh this challenge was an opportunity for us to work alongside veteran partners throughout the community uh set a goal
and then figure out how we could use that uh 100 day learning experience to to reshape our system. So, our group set the goal of helping 20 veterans exit homelessness and enter housing. Uh, over those 100 days, we were able to help 18 veterans. So, we didn't quite reach our
goal. Uh, but we we were we're proud of how far we got. But some of the the best things that came out of that challenge was that uh we were able to pull together more partners more intentionally. So, we had veteran partners. Uh, but that that project of working together on that helped us to
strengthen that task group. uh so that now when we meet each month we've got more partners around the table. Uh we also were able to improve uh what we call the by names list. So as we work to reduce homelessness we want to work beyond numbers to know people by their names. And so what part of what we have
in the veteran space is a list of names of veterans who are experiencing homelessness. And as those partners are getting together, they're working on each of those names and saying, "Okay, where's that person? What are they working on? What help do they need? Who can offer it?" Right? and really just begin to to work at that level uh to
help people exit homelessness. Uh during that process, we we created a cross agency referral training. So, helping organizations know what other organizations do, but also how to help the people you're working with access the services that those those programs offer. And then we we mapped all the
services. Again, part of the education of making sure that all of these partners know when they're working with somebody who they can go to for help. And so um as we move forward with the goal to reach functional zero, we anticipate that veterans might be one of
the first populations that we try to get to that metric right where we have no veteran in the community who experiences homelessness for longer than 30 days. So that project really helped us uh kickstart those efforts so that we can planning or continue to plan around that.
Another uh key area of growth this year was around street outreach. uh our team was able to receive grants to hire two um full-time street outreach staff and two part-time um for the first time in our community. That means that we have staff who are devoted uh to working with
people who are who are unsheltered, who are on the streets, uh working with them to to figure out how to access care, access shelter, figuring out, you know, what services and and um programs might they be able to access or be willing to access. It's also helped us to be more
responsive to community needs and concerns. Uh so we've developed an app called HC Connect. Uh previously it was only available for iPhone users. Uh within the next 30 days we'll be releasing the Android version as well. And that app allows businesses and
community members to just say, "Hey, I saw a person. I would love for somebody to reach out to them to see if they can offer them services." And it shares the location with our staff. So then they can go out and work to connect with people and make sure they're on our our outreach by names list. So uh the thing that we really worked on in that street
outreach to space was a formal protocol or a more formal protocol for our community as encampments arise. Um what partners we can pull together to work with people in encampments and help to uh help people move out of encampments as quickly as possible. And so that was
a big effort that we undertook this year with the goal of connecting people to services, right? Getting them uh in the pipeline to housing and getting them access to services they need to exit homelessness. With that There's also some challenges. Um, one of the things that's projected
in the strategic plan is that the the population of people experiencing homelessness in Singon County was projected to continue growing. When we looked back 10 years at our local data, uh, we saw steady growth of the number of people touching our system each year. And so the strategic plan uh, basically
said we can expect that number to grow by about 155 households each year. And over the course of time since the strategic plan, that's held pretty true. Uh so if you go back to 2019 uh there were a little over 1,200 people that were touching our system. So engaging
different partners, engaging different services. Uh in 2025 that number was up to 1772 uh people. So we're seeing more people uh need the services uh in our community. Fortunately, we've seen uh
those services grow at the same time. Um that's a 40% increase from from 2019. Another dynamic that we have have really struggled with is the fact that housing continues to get more expensive. Right? So if you look at fair market rental
values, this is the this is the metric that h uh US housing and urban development uh uses for you know what different programs what landlords can charge different programs. But it it goes through a essentially a study to try to figure out um you know how much
rental units cost in a community and and sets it based on that. So Since 2019, we've seen a 48% increase in fair market rental rates. So, uh, that's gone from a place when you go back to 2019, a person who maybe only had disability income was
able to afford an efficiency or a one-bedroom apartment and still have some some level, though it was incredibly tough, would have some level left over after that to pay for food and other necessities. that number in 2026 uh would almost use every cent you would
get from disability income. Um additionally, you know, just the the amount of uh hours you have to work to reach that. Again, the more expensive housing gets, uh it directly correlates with rates of homelessness around the country. Um so whether you look out at San Francisco or Chicago and you look at
the difference between that and Springfield, uh you can see that where rental costs are higher, homelessness rates are higher. And so this is something that we watch closely and um do whatever we can to try to increase the availability of affordable units.
As we've uh built out our street outreach team that's helped us to get a better understanding of people who are unsheltered or living uh outside in our community. Uh that list currently is at 72 individuals. Uh that that might not mean that every single night they're sleeping outside. They might go to
shelter some or uh may stay with a friend or stay with family members for a period of time. Uh but that means there's 72 people that our our outreach staff are working with regularly uh who are not using shelter and and are unhoused. As we're working with those individuals, it often surface other gaps
and needs in the community uh particularly around mental health. Um, we find that folks who are dealing with the most complex challenges are the the most likely to not be able to stay in shelter. Uh, whether that's um, you know, if they're they're active in uh,
some level of of mental health distress, going into a place even no matter how wellrun a shelter is and you're staying in a room with 60 to 70 other people uh, is an incredibly difficult place for someone dealing with mental health challenges to be. And so our housing in
shelter. Often what we're trying to do when we're working with people on the streets is figure out what they can access safely, what they're willing to access, but also to make sure that they're getting on our coordinated entry list and they're getting prioritized for housing. Uh just like folks in other programs, physical health care is often
a challenge. Um access to treatment services. Uh we have found that a lot of the services in our community are appointment based, right? Um if you are again u perhaps active in addiction or having a mental health issue and somebody tells you that the way to
access services is to come to a particular building at a particular time one day a week uh it's not necessarily the the best way to get people access to care. So trying to figure out how to break down those barriers and get people access to care again is what that street outreach team is doing. Uh but the
barriers to do so are are really difficult. some of the things that we're focusing on in 2026. So, we're now at the halfway point in our strategic plan. So, we've invited the the consultants that helped our community develop that plan to come back in and just say, "How are we doing?
Where are we doing well? Where are we failing? Where do we need to kind of uh tweak the work that we're doing as we continue to to work to make progress on that plan?" Uh we anticipate that that report will be ready in the first quarter of this year and something that we'll share uh widely with the
community. Um, connected to that street outreach conversation, we're thinking a lot about what we're calling complex care. How do we pull together our our federally qualified health centers and our hospital systems and other partners uh to work together for folks who are uh dealing with with a lot of different
challenges in their lives and need not just housing but need a lot of different services to come together at the same time to help them uh achieve the goals they want to achieve. So, uh that's a focus for this year. how do we how do we build out the complex care ecosystem uh in our community? Uh we're also
currently working on a youth homelessness needs assessment and strategy. Um some of that has has started going back about eight months ago when we did a survey of youth experiencing homelessness. Uh through a series of focus groups and talking to service providers in the community, uh
we're working to identify the needs that youth are facing. Um youth homelessness is complex. The federal government itself has two different definitions for youth homelessness is there's different funding pots for all of that. Um all kinds of different challenges associated with that. So we are we are working to
figure out as a community how to pull that together and have a more defined strategy uh to make sure that the youth in this community do have a safe and stable place to to stay each night. Uh we have continued plans. You know, we feel like we've built a great foundation for street outreach. Uh but we have a
lot of work to do to build upon that that uh foundation. So that remains a goal for this year. uh workforce development. Um you know, in particular, we know that there are changes coming around people that access SNAP and other benefits. And we want to make sure we're doing everything we can to help those in
our programs or those exiting homelessness get connected to employment opportunities. And u that's been identified through our our strategic plan checkin as an area where we uh need to grow and figure out how to do better in. Uh the last part, increasing housing
opportunities and reducing the number of people entering homelessness. So those first couple slides, we told you that we've helped more people exit homelessness this past year than ever before in our community's history. Uh we've got to continue that work, right? We still uh have a gap from where we are
uh to help people leave shelter more quickly and and again begin to rebuild their lives from the context of safe and stable housing. Uh I'll show you in a moment the one of the key tools we're building to do that. But the other part of that is that as a community, we want to do a better job of connecting with
families and individuals before they become homeless, right? How can we uh avoid people from, you know, making it to eviction court? We have a lot of great programs in our communities that uh that work closely together around homelessness prevention. Uh but they they all have different requirements.
And so we see a lot of people who kind of fall through the cracks, a lot of families that fall through the cracks and then have to access shelter. And so I'll show you again one of the things we're working to build so that we can help more families, more individuals uh stay in their housing units in the first
place and not have to to use shelter and other services. Uh one of those programs is what we're calling the H Heartland flexible housing pool. Uh the county uh you actually were uh among the the first to uh make a commitment to this effort in your your last fiscal year budget.
And so last year as we went out and we gave presentations to community uh churches, faith communities, uh businesses, uh our hospitals, uh this was a key tool or a key opportunity we presented for uh those entities to invest in the system. The essentially
the idea is that uh we get federal funding and we get state funding that pairs case management with rental subsidy. And uh we've been very fortunate that that funding has grown. There was an announcement with Governor Pritsker in town last month that uh kind
of shared about a a special allocation from the state in that direction, but the reality is those state funds are are not going to increase exponentially, right? They're they're really probably uh as high as they will ever be. Uh federal funding in the space is shifting. Uh we anticipate it actually
going down. And so to reach the goals we've set as a community, we've got to create our own ability to invest in programs that work and help people exit homelessness. And that's what the flexible housing pool is designed to do. Uh it we it's designed to help us identify efficiencies in the system. For
the example, state might fund a case manager with an organization, but not not give them enough money for rental subsidy to help fill that case load for that case management, right? And so with the flexible housing pool, we can find out where those efficiencies are in the system and kind of make strategic
investments and organizations so that we can house people uh at a at a lower cost to the community. So that's a a key a key effort we can continue to grow on. Uh we hope to continue to build on rather. In 2025, we had over $300,000
donated to the flexible housing pool. So uh we've been able to launch that very successfully. And then Uh on the prevention side, uh we've developed what's called the H Heartland Housing Helpline. Uh you can see the number there, 21783-5235. When people call that number, that's how
they get referred to homelessness prevention uh programs through the state. Uh they also try to help people navigate, you know, getting connected to community resources if they're eligible or other programs that they're eligible for. Sometimes we work with folks who are not eligible for any program in the
community. And so with the housing problem solving flexible fund, uh it allows us to have uh some access to resources so that when people hit a crisis, uh we can provide some support for that uh once every two years. So uh those are are two of the ways that we're
hoping to continue building on the success. If we're successful here, we'll see that number drop from 1772, right? Fewer people uh touching our shelters and our system and and then uh frankly on the prevention some of the best money
our community can spend uh because we're helping families avoid the trauma of homelessness altogether. Uh we're we're stopping the disruption that causes people to to struggle with employment or uh getting their kids to school and all of those types of challenges and uh kind
of instead of using high cost services like shelter uh rebuild their lives from the context of their own home. So uh that those are two programs we're we're really excited about. So that was a that I'd be happy to. And a lot of that is kind of contained and and spelled out a little bit uh better in the report
before you. Uh and if you're here and you didn't get a report, uh you'll be able to find that tomorrow at hartlandhouse.org on the news section of our website. That review will be there as well. But happy to entertain any questions or speak into that. Anyone >> questions for Josh? Yeah,
>> Joshu, how many families are currently homeless and uh do they get priority in placement for permanent housing? >> Yeah. So, we have um families that so we have programs that are catered specifically to families, right? So, the funding that comes in for that is only
used for families. So, Mercy Communities is our key housing provider, our only housing provider for permanent supportive housing and rapid rehousing. But then we have shelter programs and transitional housing programs. there's a few few of those in the community. So, um when you when you look at that, our
families, our shelter, our primary shelter is contact ministries. Um and they serve both families and single women. Uh so at any given time they'll have upwards of 30 women in shelter. Often the families pretty quickly are moved into the transitional housing program that can serve around around
usually around 10 households into that program. And then you've got Mercy Communities transitional housing program. in shelter and in transitional housing, we consider still literally homeless by HUD's definition. Uh so Mercy Communities transitional housing program serves another eight households and then
inner city mission uh serves anywhere from from 10 to 15 often. So uh at any given point there could be um upwards of 30 families that are in those transitional programs in our community. And then through street outreach that is a a population we've identified uh in
particular you know families utilizing their cars. Um so that a couple different occasions you know we have found um families staying in their cars to avoid going to shelter and some of those things. >> One more question. So do you find those
family? I mean we search every night for these families or is that what you guys do? That's, you know, near and dear to my heart is you want to see a family homeless and but we do, you guys do a great job of making sure a family is not out in the cold or, you know, under a vi
or something like that. >> Absolutely. So, those street outreach workers, I mean, they they're kind of tuned into there's certain things, you know, for cars in particular, if you're going through a Walmart parking lot and you see a car that has um, you know, windows that are kind of full with items, you know, there's different kind of indicators that they're looking for.
And so, they do spend time for that nights and weekends in particular now part-time folks that are doing that you know but through the app also um that has been an opportunity or people just kind of you know uh local elected officials or local businesses that reach
out and just say like hey I know this person um this person works for me this is what they're facing that's been probably one of the community members kind of finding out about these situations and making referrals to us has probably been among the most effective opportunities to connect with them and then you know from there we're trying to about what they're willing to
do, right? Sometimes um you know, they may not be willing to go to shelter or those types of settings. And so we'll we'll you know, we begin a safety plan, right? Like was there a family? Is there a friend even for a couple nights while we figure out something else? And then we start reaching out to all those transitional housing programs to see if
there's any openings and and go from there. So, um all of the organizations I will say, you know, it's pretty incredible to see the way they all work together. Um, you know, and again, the quicker we can help families exit those transitional housing opportunities, that makes sure that there's a room available
for that next family in need, right? And so that's that's really that emphasis on helping people move out and uh get back into those housing opportunities, too, because crisises keep coming, right? We all know how difficult it can be at times. So, making sure that we don't hit the spot where everything's full and
somebody has nowhere to go. >> You do beautiful work. Uh, keep up the great work. You are excellent. Man, thank you so much for all you do for this community. >> Thank you. >> Mr. Midon's question goes to the heart of one of the puzzles that I know you've
been wrestling with, which is some places specialize in mothers with children. Some people specialize in single men and and getting the the available beds to match the the people that need them. Are we doing better at that?
>> We we are. It is a challenge. Um I will of things that not just in our community but in a lot of communities during the pandemic um more organizations and more funding allowed us to start using hotels and that that has really people were really hesitant I think to do that prior
to that. Uh but after doing that we have found particularly for families um we found that to be a really successful route um because it gives us that flexibility right and so um we now have more of those hotel based programs than we've ever had before and that been a
game changer in terms of that flexibility. So, um probably one of the bigger innovations that has helped that other questions Mr. Mr. I've known you for 20 years church.
I've seen you guys address people that most people would ignore. We have an incredible team. >> Mr. Cman, >> thank you. Uh your um seems like you're doing you guys are doing a great job. Uh
your statistics show that from 2019 to 2025 number of people exiting homelessness went from 94 to 409. But do you also have the numbers the annual numbers as to how many people entered homelessness?
I mean like for example in 2025 did more people enter homelessness then exited or is it >> Yes sir. >> Oh actually my slide is no longer up. So that that was the slide where we talked
about 1772 in in 2025 verse 1,245 in 2019. >> So 17. Okay. Exits. Okay. Went to 20 to 1772. Okay. So, I mean, is the number of the is the number of people entering
homelessness going up at the same level or is it less just >> Yeah. When Right. Great question. So, so when you look at the number of folks that through our programs are helping to exit, um it's it's keeping pace slash a little bit higher barely higher the
number than the number of new people reaching our system. Um and then along with that you have people who who resolve their homelessness on their own, right? So people might come and use shelter for a month. Uh during that time they might connect with family. Um you know then then from there their family
says hey they can come with us then you know we get them connect. So that's That's not the whole picture of the ways that people exit, you know, but sometimes they get help through organizations and then sometimes they self-resolve on their own. >> Those So those numbers 1772 exiting homelessness, that doesn't mean that
they all those people found permanent housing, but they're just not using the your homelessness uh services anymore. Is that correct? >> Yes. So that's the total number of unique individuals that touched our system over the course of a year. So uh
so this one is not the number of people who exited but the number of unique. Oh that's the growth. Yeah. >> Yeah. >> Oh I I see. So you can compare that. So 1770 2025 you had 1,772
new people 409 exited. So that net increase would be the difference between those two numbers. >> Right? So not not quite as clean as that. Right. So on a given night if you so the other thing we do is you know next Next week, um, we'll do our annual point in time count where we go out on on one
night and we'll count every person who's sleeping outside. We'll also at the same time count every person in an emergency shelter program, in a transitional housing program. Now, during the same window, that number has gone up um a little over 100 people. So on a given
night in Sigma County, there's there's roughly about 385 people who are in our shelters, transitional housing program or potentially on the street. So um so all of that, you know, when you look at that 1772, that's not all happening at one time, right? Those are those are
people kind of touching the different months, but at any given point, there might be uh 380 people who are using those shelter services or using those transitional housing. If somebody exited a shelter but then they went out to live on the street, they wouldn't be counted in the
number of as exiting homelessness. >> Correct. >> And then at the shelter uh at the Helping Hands shelter, it's my understanding that so far has never uh exceeded capacity. In other words, you've always been able to accommodate
the number of people that sought a shelter. Is that correct? >> Yeah. Glad you brought that up because there's a Facebook post talking about being at capacity recently from helping hands. So they have kind of a a normal capacity during the year of how many beds they have and so they've kind of released a post saying hey we've we've
exceeded that capacity in the winter they use CS to expand beyond that. Um and since the inception of that shelter we've not had a night where they had to turn people away due to not having shelter space and that that remains true. >> What's the maximum number of people
you've ever had at the It has gotten as high as 170. >> And what's the maximum capacity? >> It's it's around 180 185. >> Thank you. >> Any other questions for for Josh? >> Josh, I just want to say that and to the
board members, the your app really works because you know that I when you first put it out, I I turned in Brian McFaden because I think he sleeps under his desk here and the next morning you called me and said, "We have there's a homeless person in the county building. I said,
"No, no, it's it's it's Brian, but the app really works and and uh >> um we want to encourage the community to to use it." >> Uh Josh, I think I know the answer to this. Was our VAC involved in your Veterans Challenge Coalition? That's great to hear that because they have
some really powerful funding tools that they can can bring to bear that that's great to hear. And I I hesitate a little bit to ask this, but how many staff do you have? We are we just hired a new one earlier this week. So we we are up to seven full-time staff, but then the
organization also supports a housing navigator partially through at Helping Hands and then our database administrator. So we support nine full-time positions through through the organization. >> Do you pay rent where your offices are now? >> We do currently. >> I'm just thinking John's not going to
like this idea, but I'm just thinking, you know, we're we're just we're just talking today about the community services building that we're where the public health building is now. And I just wonder just thinking of all the things you do if maybe we should talk with you about including you in that
facility. >> If you got extra space, John, we we wouldn't mind shedding the rent payment. So, >> I'm not sure we have extra space, but but but maybe there's a way to squeeze it in. At least we ought to take a look at it before we build it. Well, any other questions for Josh?
Thank you very much, Josh. Thanks for the work. minutes. Minutes of the December 9th, 2025 meeting motion by Mr. Mononia, seconded by Mr. Deljouro for the approval of the minutes of the of the meeting. All in favor signify by saying I >> opposed. No, the eyes have been
approved. Motion motion by Mr. Deljouro, second by Mr. need to place correspondence on file with the clerk. All in favor signify by saying I >> opposed. No. The eyes correspondence be placed on file with the clerk. Resolutions. Resolution number one. Mr. Cl. >> Resolution one. Resolution approving a grant application for community resources for the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the Lihei program in the amount of 1,463,66. >> Motion by Mr. Second by Mr. John resolution one council members. Canman >> constant dabsco
>> diner >> deljouro >> depos for >> Frzy. >> Hi >> Jenzi. >> Hi >> Gton. >> Hi >> Paul >> Krell. >> Hi >> Lean. >> Hi >> Monia. >> Hi >> Magguire. >> Hi >> Menhal.
>> Hi >> Miller. >> Hi >> Raider. >> Hi >> SC. >> Hi >> Shman. Hi >> Shepard. >> Hi >> Small. >> Hi >> Stump. >> Hi >> Thomas. >> Hi >> Chumlin. True X. >> All 20 approved. >> All those voting having voted confirm
that resolution one is adopted. Resolution two. Mr. >> Number two, 2025-21 K I Schwarz 11396 State Route 125 Pleasant Plains running variances.
>> Motion by Mr. Second by Mr. Money to place resolution two before the board. We're now the zoning portion of the meeting. policy to ask if there are members of the audience who wish to speak in opposition to the proposed resonance feels necessary to speak in support of
the proposition I move we wave the staff report there objection without objection so ordered questions comments from members of the board on the resolution seeing none on the resolution those in favor adopting resolution signify by saying I >> opposed no the eyes have it resolution two is adopted resolution three Mr.
>> number three 20 25-20 David P. Ger 7750 Cardinal Hill Road, Rochester, granting a reasoning in variances. >> Motion by Mr. Thomas, second by Mr. Menhal three before the board of the members of the audience who wish to speak in opposition to the proposed resc
on resolution three. Seeing none on the question, all those in favor of adopting resolution three signify by saying I >> opposed. No, guys have it. Resolution three is adopted. Resolution four. Mr. Clerk. >> Number four, an ordinance approving and authorizing the execution delivery of an
intergovernmental agreement between the county of Sangaman and village of Jerome related to building and property code inspections, permitting, and violations. >> Motion by Mr. Second by Miss Deppy to place resolution four before the board. Mr. Money, do you have a motion on that?
>> I move that the roll call vote for resolution one stand for the roll call vote of resolution four. >> All in favor signify saying I. >> Opposed? No. The eyes have it. Resolution four is adopted. Res motion by Mr. Menhal Mr. Monia seconded by Mr. Deljouro for the waiver of the 10day filing period. All in favor signify by
saying I >> opposed. No. The eyes have a 10-day filing period waved. Resol waved. Resolution five. Mr. Number five, resolution approving the procurement of goods and or services for information systems from clouds safe for a period of three years for the purpose of monthly IER cloud backups in the
amount of $36,180. >> Motion by Miss Deppy, second by Mr. Dowskco to place res five before the board. Mr. Deljaro, >> Mr. Chairman, at this time I move to consolidate resolutions 6 through 17 and with five
>> second by Mr. Medel. Mr. Cler, will you please Resolutions 6 through 17. >> My pleasure. Number six, resolution approving the procurement of goods and or services for information systems from Tyler Technologies Incorporated for the purpose of renewing the annual financial
software maintenance in the amount of $85,961.60. Number seven, resolution authorizing the county administrator to negotiate enter to an agreement with Midwest Industrial Contractors Corporation Incorporated for the performance of demolition work in
the amount of 80,000. Number eight, resolution authorizing an agreement between Sang County and the Farnsworth Group for the remodeling of the state's attorney's office and the amount not to exceed $50,750. Number nine, resolution authorizing an agreement between Sang County and Jennings Painting for the remodeling of
the seventh floor Sang County in the amount of $217,780. Number 10, resolution approving the procurement of goods and or services for public health department from WD17 for the purpose of providing Narcan advertising services in the amount of
50,000. Number 11, resolution approving a grant application for the public health department from the Illinois Department of Public Health for the vaccines access program sang in the amount of 50,000. Number 12, resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for the state's
attorney's office from Marl Brothers Ford Incorporated for the purpose of purchasing a new 24 Ford Edge in the amount of 36,300. 13. Resolution approving a grant application for the state's attorney's office from the Illinois attorney
general's office for the violent crimes victim assistance program in the amount of 42,500. 14. Resolution approving the procurement of goods and/or services for the reporter's office from Fidler Technologies for the purpose of maintaining records database and various
search databases in the amount of 133,200. 15 resolution approving a grant application for the Springfield Sang County Regional Planning Commission for the US Environmental Protection Agency. I'm sorry, from the in the amount of 1,500,000.
Number 16, resolution approving a grant application for community resources from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity for the Community Service Block Grant Program in the amount of $569,641. And finally, number 17, resolution of
approving the procurement of goods andor services for the finance miscellaneous department from Heartland Housed for the purpose of providing flexible housing supports in the amount of 50,000. >> Mr. Clerk uh on the motion to consolidate. All in favor signify by
saying I >> opposed. No. The eyes have it motion consolidate to to consolidate is agree to questions comments members of the board on the resolutions as consolidated. Seeing none. Mr. Moniaon, you have M m. >> Resolution number 12 is with the state's
attorney's office buying a new buying a new 2024 Ford Edge. Is this to replace a vehicle that the state's attorney's office has now or is this something a new addition to the office? >> I think that's a question we can direct professional staff. I don't think we have anybody from the state's office
here. >> Oh, I'm sorry. >> I ju just the this potted plant here. I'm sorry. >> No, in answer your question, there was a pickup truck they had which they I believe went to Bill Grounds. >> Correct.
Okay. And but it was purchased from a dealer in not in Sang County, somebody in Greenfield, Illinois. Why don't we make these purchase purchases here locally? Help our local businesses. >> Uh we buy off the state bid. >> Oh, it's the cheapest option we have.
We'd like to buy locally, but none of the local dealers have. >> All right. Thanks. from the state >> on resolution 17 the 50,000 to forland house for the purpose of providing flexible housing support is that to get
hotel rooms what or what is what is it uh Mr. Zel spoke directly to that before this is the uh flexible flexible housing fund that uh we seed funded last year and they've now raised additional
$300,000 primarily from the religious community. Uh and that's a flexible housing fund that they use sort of emergency situations and and uh for people who present with a with a emergency situation, whatever that may
be. So it's a it's a fund without strict criteria, but they found it to be very useful. >> So it could be used to get somebody who's homeless in an emergency a hotel room. >> It has it has no on its usage. >> All right. Thank you.
>> Any other questions for members of the board on the resolutions as consolidated? Seeing none, Mr. Money, you have a motion. >> I move that the roll call vote for resolution one stand for the roll call vote for resolutions 5 through 17 as consolidated. >> Second by Delron. All in favor signify
by saying I >> post. No. The eyes have it. Resolutions is consolidated or adopted. Old business. The chair is aware of no old business. New business. The chair is aware of no new business. >> May I have some new business? I I um like to ask Sheriff Crouch a question. I
been hearing a lot of radio commercials uh that you've had on the air that says paid for by the authority of Sangman County, which I think we authorized in a resolution we passed or that they could be put on the air up to 63 days before an election. But was wondering, I asked
you for if you could give me an accounting of the amount of money taxpayer money that was spent on these radio commercials, billboards, and other advertising. Do do you have that information? So, I have some of the information that you requested. Um, as far as the
advertising you asked for after November of 25. So, for radio advertisement, we've spent $6,152. The board billboard costs all happened before November of 25.
>> All right. That was the only advertising after November 1, 2025. The radio ads. >> The radio ads. Yes. >> Okay. There's no there were no TV. What was there's a on your purchase reports? There's an item for Comcast cable. That's not TV ads. >> No, not for me.
>> What was that for? >> I have no idea. >> Okay. probably the jail >> inmate TV. >> Okay. >> All right. Thank you. >> And I would Mr. Canman just to point out um on your email that you sent me, you
asked about some promotion for expenses for uh prescription drug drop off. We do generally partner with public health on that, but in this particular incident, the one that you're talking about, there were no funds from Sang County use for
any of that. and the promotion of free rides for people who had too much to drink on New Year's Eve. We didn't we did not do a promotion for that. So that that one is >> So the the only ones you use county funds for was to promote the uh your app and the job fair. Is that correct?
>> There was a sheriff's app and job fair and then we did a drive sober campaign over New Year's. >> Okay. Thank any other questions under new business? Seeing on appointments. Motion by Mr. Vanton, second by Mr. Deljonah for the
approval of the appointments as submitted at your desk. All in favor signify by saying I >> opposed. No, the eyes have it. The appointments are approved. And then we have public comment. We have 10 people, I think, who signed up to speak tonight. Uh under our new rules, every person is
afforded up to four minutes to speak. And we take the speakers in the order that they signed up. And the first person who signed up is someone well known to county board is Kathleen Campbell. >> Miss Gamble, you can adjust that table if you want. If you want to the whole
table, >> I think I'm fine. Thank you so much. My name is Dr. Kathleen Campbell. I'm president of Citizens Against Heartland Green Projects. I live in Glenn Ar. As a retired professor and distinguished scholar from SIU School of Medicine, I
tend to focus on health issues. First, I'd like to thank the board for sponsoring the December data center public forum and listening to the multiple citizens concerns expressed at the zoning committee meetings. I'd also like to personally thank Trust Harrison for meeting with my colleague Envy to
carefully explain the permitting approval process and answering our many questions. We've talked about the noise pollution, the water risks, the irrevocable damage to farmland, the possible lost opportunity cost and loss of property
value to surrounding properties, the risks of higher energy costs, the low likelihood of major employment for our segment county workers and the possibility that these data centers may have short longevity leaving behind a
non-marketable property. Other data centers across the country have not received the projected funds first promised. Increasingly, citizens across the country in areas that have experienced the negative impacts of data centers are
rejecting them. The backlash is growing. Let's listen to them. However, tonight I speak about the health impacts of data centers, particularly the pollution now being called digital smog. On November 5th, 2025, Harvard
published a review article consolidating the information across multiple studies. They state and I quote, "These massive facilities not only strain already stressed power grids, but also create air pollution, including fine
particulate matter, resulting in significant respiratory related health consequences that are estimated to cost up to 20 billion dollar per year in the United States by 2028. The released air pollutants include
PM2.5 and nitrogen oxides, often called silent killers. These air pollutants can penetrate deep into the lungs and are linked to a variety of health outcomes such as asthma, lung cancer, heart attacks, and
even premature death. They're recognized as the second highest risk factor for non-communicable diseases. Importantly, air pollutants like PM2.5 are considered non threshold, meaning there is no safe level and any increase
poses a health risk. Even short-term exposure lasting just 30 minutes to 24 hours can trigger breathing problems, particularly for vulnerable individuals with pre-existing lung conditions. However, these pollutants, moreover, these pollutants can travel hundreds of
miles with the wind, raising air pollutant concentrations in communities. from the emission source. I would point out that Springfield is in the direct path of the south westerly winds common here. Some state agencies have begun
conducting conducting health impact assessments of data centers on site diesel generators to inform emission limits and residents near a large AI data center in Memphis, Tennessee have raised strong concerns about air pollution and health risk. Concerns that
have reached national headlines. I do not The current permitting process has any emission limits, nor do they include health impact assessments. We need to proactively integrate public health impacts into the design and deployment of AI, an approach called health
informed AI. Let's not approve this project until these needed tools are actualized and pollution guidelines fully developed so we can protect our public health. I would point out that at no time during our public hearing in December did Cyrus or the Springfield
Growth Alliance even mention these public health and it's their responsibility to be transparent. New regulations and legislation are in the works. Let's wait. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. Campbell. Can may we have
a copy of your remarks? If not those specific ones, could we have those for the clerk? Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. >> Great. I I kind of thought you did. >> Um,
okay. The the next person who signed up to speak in order is um Ryan McCrady. As Mr. approaches the the dis. I just want to mention to board members, we've had several uh members of the public ask us for
second opinions on some of the information that we gathered uh for the public hearing and staff is working on getting second opinions on on some of the information that that we gathered for that for that public hearing. Mr.
McCra, >> thank you. Uh my name is Ryan McCrady. president of the Springfield Sangman Growth Alliance here in Springfield. Our offices are in downtown Springfield. I wanted to uh thank the county board for the process that you put forward to have an open public discussion about Cyrus
1's plans to construct a data center here in Sang County. I think you can see the difference in how the process has gone here uh compared to maybe some other communities that are also exploring data center options. Uh just a couple reminders about this project. Um,
this project would represent a $500 million investment in our community. Uh, Cyrus One has entered into a letter of intent with our local building and construction trades council to use local labor to construct that and to maintain that facility. That investment in local
workers will create an an exceptional economic impact out into the community as those workers live here. We'll spend money here, support our businesses, send their kids to our schools, and go to our churches. So, it's a great opportunity for us. Also, uh although Cyrus One is
new to Sang County, they're not new to Illinois and they're not new to the industry. Cyrus one has been around for over 25 years in the process of doing data centers around the country and globally. So they have a tremendous
amount of experience. There are a lot of data center companies that are startups right now that are exploring opportunities. But the good news for us is we're dealing with a very experienced organization that's looking at doing the data center here in Springfield and S County. I know the cost to provide
public services to your constituents and your taxpayers goes up every single day. It's just the nature of of what we do and what exists. Uh when you look at the part of Sangland County where this project be located, that part of the county has not seen enormous increases
in property values. And so when you determine how much taxes each person in the community pays, it's uh what could be a simple mathematical equation of the cost for services divided by the units that determine how much tax you pay. And those are units of property values
equalize assessed valuation. If we can't find a way to increase the denominator of that equation, the bottom of that equation, the top's going to constantly continue to increase. The cost to provide services is going to continue to increase. One of the ways we set that is through economic
development, through finding opportunities to increase property values and to provide development opportunities across the county. That's what this project represents. Right now, these properties at this site pay about $20,000 a year in property taxes and the estimate from the same
county assessor is over $6 million a year property taxes on the same acreage. So, this represents an opportunity to affect that equation in a positive way. I appreciate having the opportunity to speak and the growth alliance is available to answer questions from any
of you or other constituents anytime. Thank you. >> Thank you, Mr. McCra. And the next person who signed up to speak in order is Jeff Scott. Mr. Scott. Mr. Scott. Not not seeing Mr. Scott.
Okay. The next person who signed up in order to in the order to speak is um Ethan Manning. So, as I've spoke before, this is we're about three months in. I spoke I've spoke several times now. Um, there's been some many good points that have
been brought up. I always try to look at this from a little bit different of an angle. Um, I've kind of focused more on the financial end of this. Just real quick, there's things that have been put out have been concerns or issues over land us. envir environmental pollution,
power grid concerns, electric bill increases, etc. All of which I'm concerned about as well. But something that has not been mentioned that I got to thinking about is what if this company Cyrus One decides to change ownership? So then it made me think a
little bit deeper. Who is Cyrus One? Well, as published on the Sigma County website, they're a company based out of Texas that has uh worth about 15 billion dollars that has been in business since the early 2000s. But I would somewhat
disagree. They were purchased in 2022 by a company called KKR. And as I as I've said before, if you follow the money, you actually end up at a skyscraper in Manhattan Island. And KKR's is possibly one of the biggest private equity
companies on the planet. Um, and so if you know anything about private equity, your skin should already be crawling. If you don't, I'd like to take a little time and read a brief synopsis here. Again, somewhat my opinion on what private equity is, but talking about private equity and KKR the company.
Private equity is a insidious level above large faceless corporations. While corporations have profits first, they still have to tend to their products and services while maintaining their bottom lines. Big tech is an example of this. Private equity, on the other hand,
typically uses a model of takeovers and borrowed debt to buy up companies. This debt is not theirs and it's common for them to use government pension funds. They work in shortterm windows, typically three to five years. And if the company's not successful, they look to dissolve a company through finding
another buyer, chopping the company up by uh up by liquidation or just simply seeking bankruptcy protection. KKR, which owns Cyrus One, has a portfolio of companies valued at over $600 billion. It portfolio includes energy companies,
healthcare companies, food companies, publishing companies, entertainment companies, web- based companies, and even IP rights. For example, they own the rights in IP. They own the rights uh to the band One Direction. Oliver Stone's character of Gordon Gecko
was influenced by the then CEO of KKR. And the and the book Barbarians at the Gate, which was later turned into a movie starring James Garner, was written about KKR's ruthless takeover of RJR Nabiscoco. Recently, the book Plunderers was
written about PE, private equity equity firms, and highlights uh KKR's and highlights KKK, excuse me, KKR among others. I'd like to quote something from that book and it says here straight out of the book, private equity is a is greed wrapped in the American flag of
efficiency looting justified by solve investments if that even happens. Um, which brings me back to kind of the beginning of this. If this company changes hands or if it's dissolved or if it just falls under typical private
equity, you know, think Goldman Sachs, uh, uh, think Black Rockck. Um, will they honor their commitments to land usage? Will they honor their commitments to environmental pollution or the our power bills won't increase or
power grid concerns and on and on and on because as I said at the end of the day, all private equity cares about is the bottom dollar. So, I'm just going straight for the throw in this one. Um, vote no to this. just please vote no because I can tell you come one come
many and I don't want to end up like Lowden County and I will also say that looking out there's going to be other areas we're going to be looking to build as well. Thank you. >> Thank you. Uh the next person to sign up
to speak in order is Mr. Henry. Good evening and thank you. Um I'm here tonight simply to announce that a number of uh collaborators, myself included, conducted a lot of research since the last time I was here on what other
communities have done with respect to data centers. and we've come up with a draft of a proposed data center ordinance that we've forwarded for board consideration to Mr. Trust Harrison. Uh copies have also been sent by certified
mail to Cyrus One and to its local council. Given uh USPS realities, they probably won't receive it till this weekend. Um we did a lot of research. We reached out to other communities
uh and did a lot of reading and discovered that some had drafted noise ordinances only to be frustrated with the discovery that the most offensive emitted sounds from the data center were not covered uh because its frequency is
different than typical industrial noise. It's much lower. It covers different frequency bands and exposure creates difficulties with human health and sleep. Think of these new
frightening weapons that they're coming up with. They were actually mentioned as having been used in Venezuela. Sound sonic weapons. They're low frequency sounds that disrupt your very organs. Well, because of its low frequency, the
Sound also travels through things and farther than higher frequency sound. And there was one data center where the the community prevailed and and they passed an ordinance with noise regulation, but they they didn't
do the right frequencies. And the the company spent tens of millions of dollars to build uh remediation for the sounds they were making. And it didn't work until they got the real experts that came in and said, "Oh, you're
looking at the wrong bandwidth of noises." And it's you can modify your fan housings and fans and that's what should have been done. It would have saved the company millions of dollars and it to save the residents a lot of
grief. U but our ordinance covers about five pages. It's a lot longer than the current one. Contains detailed sound and and vibration provisions, adds site requirements for energy, water, light, buffers, landscaping, other provisions
not addressed or inadequately addressed in the current ordinance. We urge the board to quickly uh reconsider its current ordinance. really has no effective pro provisions at all for noise except when the proposed center is
directly adjacent to a residence. Uh it it effectively greenlights these things throughout the county wherever you can conceive of a grid connection. Residential properties, businesses, livestock operations, kennels, the
impairment of ability to sub uh subdivide adjacent farmland and use it. All this and more. are at stake whether it's Cyrus one or the next one. The state legislature is going to take up data center issues. I I just want to say
we need guard rails in place now, not two years from now. Construction jobs that build a machine that takes away jobs is a loser proposition to me. And the state legislature exempting mega projects from the touted tax benefits.
Freezing property tax values at the pre-build level is pending in the legislature right now with wide support, bipartisan support, one in the House, one in the Senate. Don't count on your
big revenues. Thank you. >> Thank you. The next person who signed up, >> Mr. Chairman, >> excuse me. >> The gentleman's name I did not catch. >> Mr. Henry. Mr. Henry. U the next person who signed with speaking order is Aaron Kirk Kirk
Patrick. Good evening. I'm Kirkpatrick, Sang County. Uh, in quick response to Mr. McCrady, we are not communities. Cyrus one touts fast modular construction on their site. We all want local labor
utilized, but this distracts from jobs that will be lost from the AI it will house. Cyrus one has already changed hands three times in those years operating, and data center companies have their taxes re-evaluated at the state level to pay less or even force repayment. As for my comments, uh, in a
course from Harvard on leadership, they discuss different types of challenges. Adaptive challenges force us to build new capacities. They demand that we go beyond what we currently know how to do and have associated uncertainty and questions around loss. You know the
adage, people resist change. Well, it's not really true. People love change when they know it's a good thing. People aren't stupid. Nobody gives back a winning lottery ticket. What people resist change per se, but the losses that sometimes accompany change.
Leadership requires a deep respect for the pains of change. You have to understand what you are asking of people when you ask them to change. Data centers posed such an adaptive challenge. We must go beyond what we have done before and there will be trade-offs. We must have the humility to
recognize that the effects of data centers are not something we fully understand. and leadership would require communicating about what you are asking our community to give up in exchange for proposed data center dollars. I'm concerned we're so focused on short-term
economic gain that we're not performing an adequate long-term risk benefit analysis. 70% of the increase in electric rates across the nation this year was due to data centers. The growing demand for AI is projected to push the total annual public health burden of US data centers
up to more than 20 billion annually in 2028 in two years or approximately 600,000 asthma symptom cases and 1300 premature deaths. Remember the decel scale is logarithmic not linear which means 60 dB is twice as
loud as 50. We are now subsidizing through our electric bills and physical and mental health some of the largest companies on the planet as they promise us diminishing tax breadcrumbs. So let's ask ourselves, do we want more freedom for individuals or more freedom for
corporations? Because our current lack of regulations is certainly granting corporate freedom. The time is now to update our zoning around data centers. Just reading the proposed zoning updates taught me how much more I have to learn despite believing I know a relative lot. Again, I call on you to do the work on
this on the front end. Let's learn from other counties just like ours before we're burned like they were. Again, imagine the next one is in your district or a quarter of a mile from your home and it's your even closer neighbors calling and emailing you and not Craig
because it could be. With our current level of transparency, we don't know where the other centers are scouting. Please take some real time to review and strongly consider the proposed zoning changes. pass updated regulations. Let's look at those zoning changes discussed and help limit the negative changes and
consequences associated with these proposed projects. Thank you. >> Thank you, >> Mr. Chairman. Wonder >> could I ask a question to legal counsel? >> You may >> just regarding Mr. Hamran's proposal for
a revised zoning ordinance to affect data centers. Could we pass that now and it would affect the current u not zone? Yeah, the current application of Cyrus one. >> You don't mean tonight. >> Pardon me. >> You don't mean tonight. >> No, not not tonight. I mean, but we did
it before we voted on the application. Well, again, this this would all go on the fit into the discussion I had on the question of the moratorum. So right now we have
zoning ordinance that controls this right now and everybody has a right to rely on existing at the point in time where resolution I guess committee levelist
then they would no longer have the right to rely Now whether they have basted rights already how much money they've already spent on this I have no idea that
I determinion like case by Well, we could certainly it it may or may not be effective with the Cyrus one application, but we could certainly 100 100% pass it and would be applicable to any other future data center
applications for zoning relief. Correct. I think that's correct. >> The next person who signed up to speak is Ann Low. We >> we are That corner is treacherous.
>> No, we're getting a railing to prevent that from happening. >> Well, I'm just, you know, I didn't have my nap today. This is for you guys. And this is my speech with some backup. This map shows that rapid
escalation of data centers. They're happening all over the country and they're affecting many communities that are not prepared for them. There are about 36 communities that have blocked these
initiatives. to quote Illinois Power Agency, Illinois Commerce Commission, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. It says hyperscaled data centers are driving Illinois power needs to unsustainable highs. According to their recent report,
data centers are poised to set our climate on a fast-forward course to an unsustainable climate being used to justify the prolonged use of fossil fuels, locking in a future of elevated emissions and escalated temperatures.
Data will show that global temps rise as Whoops. Boy, the carbon level and carbon and global temperatures rise lock step. This is a graph that shows
it. Data centers are a primary fuel for carbon emissions. Data show that global temperatures rise as carbon levels rise. Requiring data centers to provide their own clean energy and storage would protect local citizens from respiratory disease,
cancer, and escalating utility bills. What is our strategy when more data centers come knocking at our door? How will we protect the farmland? And what is the MYSO strategy when data center growth exceeds supply and utility rates
rise? Many measures are being beginning to take hold where heavy concentrations of hyperscale data centers already exist. Changing changes to the zoning and permitting process are powerful tools for responsible data center
construction. Harrisonburg, Virginia removed data center status of by right to development to require special use permits which redirect proposals through public hearings and discretionary
reviews instead of waiting to engage the public as it did here at the end of the process. Community benefit agreements are positive means to balance out the public harm that these centers create.
As of December 16, 2025, Chandler, Arizona City Council last week, or that was the news article, unanimously rejected a zoning request for a 10acre data center despite the promise of a
closed loop cooling system. This is the same suburb that had a fivelevel structure for a 169 megawatt data center built and they built it in 170 days thanks to their massively modular prefab
construction utilizing pre-built blocks to reduce on-site work that directly affects our labor here. Chandler Arizona has learned from the experience that these companies are not our friends. They are international corporations who
are billions of dollars in debt with AI expansion in mind. It is not just about this one data center. It's how we set a precedent for any data center asking to build in our community. >> Mr. Okay. >> Thank you.
>> The next person who signed up to speak in order is Ken Pesa. Mr. Pesa. See him. The next person to spend send signed up to speak is Brad How.
>> Good evening. My name is Brad H with Cyrus 1. First, I would like to extend my gratitude to the community members here today and to the county leaders and agencies that continue to engage with our team. I particularly want to thank the county for the amazing job you've done
facilitating public dialogue at Cyrus 1. We make it a priority to fully engage with communities considering our projects and to be open and transparent with the people who live in the places where we invest. The county's work in facilitating this is greatly appreciated.
Finally, thank you to everyone who has come out and offered your viewpoints and participated in this process. This year, Cyrus 1 celebrates 25 years in business, having been formed at the start of the new millennium. In 25 years, we've weathered a tech stock
bubble, a global financial crisis, an unprecedented pandemic, and wave after wave of geopolitical issues. Through all of this, the demand and viability of our facilities has remained steady and unchanged. Technology has evolved rapidly over the
past 25 years, but facilities we built in the early 2000s continue to operate and succeed today. That's because we're a company that builds for longevity. We don't chase trends or build based on a bubble. We build for the long term with
infrastructure capable of meeting dynamic and changing customer demand. Our commitment to invest $500 million in Sangan County is about our company's future and the future of this community. This investment means 100 million in tax revenue over the next 20 years, hundreds
of jobs for local labor workforce, and a new permanent workforce with long-term career advancement opportunities. Within Cyrus 1, we can point to several instances where an employee has entered the company at an entry level and progressed over several years to a
leadership or even an executive role. Throughout the wave of change that has affected our company, we remain a group of people proud of the work and the role we serve within the national and global economies. As highlighted at the public forum in December, this is a project that is
responsibly designed with respect to water usage, lighting, noise, and landscape design. The power infrastructure to serve this project is adjacent to the site today and our commitment to pay for line extensions helps protect existing rate from
socialized costs. Further to this, the regional grid operator, MYSO, has confirmed that capacity is available to serve the project today and won't create rolling blackouts or brownouts. Our electric bills we pay to the Royal Electric Convenience Cooperative. Their lead their leadership has made it clear
this project is beneficial for their members and allow them to reduce the amount of transmission costs passed on to their customers. Through thoughtful site selection and planning, we are working to create a project where the costs are not socialized, but the benefits are. As
demonstrated over the past several weeks, Sangaman County is a place with thoughtful residents, strong leaders, and a talented workforce that stands ready to deliver a responsible campus that will help diversify the local economy and tax base. In doing so, we'll
help support hundreds of local amilies for years to come. Cyrus 1 is a company run by people that are proud of what we do, proud of our role in the national and global economy, and proud of the positive impact we have on the communities we operate within. We are
excited about this opportunity at hand and look forward to delivering a worldclass campus here in Sangaman County. In the coming weeks, we will work to finalize our initial stakeholder engagement efforts and present plans for approval. As mentioned at the meeting in December, we want to be a good neighbor.
We want to be a good corporate citizen. And we'll do everything to demonstrate this to you as we have in dozens of other communities over the past 25 years. Thank you for your time tonight. >> Thank you, Mr. And the the last person who signed up to speak, Erin Gernzie,
not to this body. Thank you, chairman. Thank you, county board members, and all in attendance tonight. Uh good evening. Uh for those of you who don't know me, I'm Aaron Gernzie, uh president of the Central Building and Construction Trades
Council. I'm the business manager for plumbers and steam fitters level 137 and I am a resident of Sang County. I've addressed this board previously at the public hearing as a proponent of the Cyrus One data center and our position as organized labor is still in favor of
this project and as I try for some new material uh bear with me a little bit but um I do respect the concerns for this project and it does show that the citizens of S County care about what goes on around them. And I'm glad the uh
county board takes all that into consideration. Um but I'm not here to talk to you about electric rates, noise, or the obvious need for stable base load power generation here in the state of Illinois. I represent the skilled workers in Sangman County. And it has
made me realize that they and their families really do love nice things. They love their their public schools and their sports teams. They love their parks, their libraries, and their beautiful public spaces for gatherings and spaces for their kids to play. These
families love feeling safe with the protection of the police and fire departments. All these wonderful things are funded by property taxes. Cyrus One is ready to pay their share of the property taxes for these things to
the tune of right at $6 million. Schools get funded, road districts improve, and Sangon County has a place for 500 men and women to build a facility and spend that hard-earned money right here in the community because of a labor agreement that
ensures local workers are on this project. And as a reminder, Cyrus One will ultimately put 100 people to work in full-time, well-p paid, highly skilled positions upon completion of this construction upon the completion of the construction portion. And the
operations begin. Speaking of these skilled positions to build this facility, do you know where these men and women will train? Right here in Sang County to operate the facility. Do you know where these workers will train? Right here in Sang County.
For those students that see the pathway to a great career may not be college. The high school trades programs at local schools teach and sustain a pre-apprenticeship training program. Lincoln Lane Community College has their pre-apprenticeship training programs.
And finally, these skilled trades people come to local union halls to enter our apprenticeship programs to hone their skills and become the workforce that makes Central Illinois the place where Midwest work ethic becomes a reality.
So, in conclusion, we all like nice things. Progress and change are what brings the public those nice things. So, please support local because when you don't, there won't be a local to support. Thank you.
>> Thank Thank you very much. That concludes public comment for this evening. Uh we still have a few quick other formal matters to tend to reports of county officials, reports of special committees, reports of standing committees, report of the committee on claims. Motion by Mr. Deljouro, second
by Mr. Money that the reports be placed on file with the clerk. All in favor signify by saying I. No, the eyes have the reports to be placed on cler. >> Yeah. Can >> Hey, can I have a moment to say something, please?
>> If it's if it's in order. Go ahead. >> Yes, I blink believe it's in order. I appreciate everybody going over to the convention center and I'm hearing everybody. I thought it was very disrespectful for people to leave during the meeting before the other people spoke. Thought it was really nice here
tonight to have the people who spoke before not leave tonight. That's just a good way to treat each other. That's all I have to say. And I'm talking about the conduct of leaving. And there's people in the back of the room when you say, "Hey, that I'm a traver guy, right? I'm
a union guy. I really am." Right? But to say, "I have to get home. that there's farmers in the back back here who have cattle that I know are up early in the morning and not coming in until almost before you know I'm just saying please
>> okay I'm thank you miss I'm not really sure if that was in order but thank you all right motion by Mr. Monia seconded by Mr. Journal that uh we do stand in recess until our regularly scheduled February meeting. All in favor signify by saying I. >> I. >> Oppos? No. The eyes have it. We stand in
recess.