Not long ago, Gov. JB Pritzker, like many other governors, saw data centers as a generational opportunity for economic growth, and he argued that Illinois needed to lead the data chase.

Pritzker even signed a 2019 bill that encouraged the use of tax incentives to help ensure data-center growth. After all, the huge computing power delivered by data centers is driving the increasingly artificial intelligence-driven economy.

But now the dimensions of the vast amount of power and water needed to drive data centers are becoming more clear, as is political resistance to the higher utility rates and other disruptions that come along with the sprawling warehouse-style developments. Pritzker now sees the scale of the power, water and political concerns, and in late spring, he imposed a pause on new data center tax incentives, which began July 1. And he did so despite objections from House Speaker Emanuel “Chris” Welch and opposition from his political base: Climate Jobs Illinois and the Illinois AFL-CIO in a joint statement called on the governor to “pause his pause.”

A growing body of independent data shows Pritzker is right to be cautious. Here is the latest example: A report by the Tribune and my organization, the Better Government Association’s Illinois Answers Project, found that data centers near O’Hare International Airport have received $100 million in tax breaks. Just three suburbs — Elk Grove........

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