Is Hawthorne Race Course being torn down for a data center? Cicero thinks so.
<p>Cicero officials believe that there could be plans in the works for a data center to replace the Hawthorne Race Course, which recently closed after 135 years of horse racing.</p><p>In a symbol of how unpopular data center developments have become, the trustees of the near western suburb are expected to consider two resolutions opposing data centers when they meet Tuesday even though no official announcements have been made about any projects.</p><p>Across Illinois, residents and local municipalities are pushing back against large data centers being developed to support artificial intelligence that are power hogs <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/consumer-affairs/2026/05/13/comed-electric-customer-bills-rising-ai-data-centers-pjm-energy-costs" >driving up residential electric bills</a>, using <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/environment/2025/08/20/data-centers-ai-artificial-intelligence-chicago-illinois-great-lakes-michigan-drinking-water-jb-pritzker" >enormous amounts of water</a> and creating noise and other nuisances.</p><p>One resolution before the trustees opposes a data center at the nearby Hawthorne property, though there has been no public acknowledgement that any such plan is in place. The resolution says town officials don’t want any projects built anywhere near the western suburb of more than 80,000 people.</p><p>A mystery buyer that goes by the name of Allimac 2023 LLC agreed to pay $90 million for the property at 3501 S Laramie Ave.
Reported by 1 outlet — Chicago Sun-Times. See all sources ↓
<p>Cicero officials believe that there could be plans in the works for a data center to replace the Hawthorne Race Course, which recently closed after 135 years of horse racing.</p><p>In a symbol of how unpopular data center developments have become, the trustees of the near western suburb are expected to consider two resolutions opposing data centers when they meet Tuesday even though no official announcements have been made about any projects.</p><p>Across Illinois, residents and local municipalities are pushing back against large data centers being developed to support artificial intelligence that are power hogs <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/consumer-affairs/2026/05/13/comed-electric-customer-bills-rising-ai-data-centers-pjm-energy-costs" >driving up residential electric bills</a>, using <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/environment/2025/08/20/data-centers-ai-artificial-intelligence-chicago-illinois-great-lakes-michigan-drinking-water-jb-pritzker" >enormous amounts of water</a> and creating noise and other nuisances.</p><p>One resolution before the trustees opposes a data center at the nearby Hawthorne property, though there has been no public acknowledgement that any such plan is in place. The resolution says town officials don’t want any projects built anywhere near the western suburb of more than 80,000 people.</p><p>A mystery buyer that goes by the name of Allimac 2023 LLC agreed to pay $90 million for the property at 3501 S Laramie Ave. in Stickney, which borders Cicero. The owner has not publicly identified itself or said what it will do with the land.</p><p>“Development of a data center on the Hawthorne property adjacent to [Cicero] will place undue strain on the town's resources and infrastructure,” the proposed resolution states, also noting a potential threat to public health.</p><p>The other resolution Cicero officials are considering is a bit of a head scratcher because it suggests that another government body is in talks with a developer to build a separate data center next to the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, one of the world’s largest wastewater treatment plants processing hundreds of millions of gallons of water a day.</p><p>A data center industry website made a claim that a deal is in the works to build near the Stickney plant within the next couple of years.</p><p>However, the government agency that operates the wastewater plant, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago, denies that such a deal is in the works.</p><p>“The district absolutely does not have any plans for a data center [and] would never pursue any initiative that would impact our neighbors without first consulting with the local community to ensure their voices are heard,” the agency said in a statement.
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- <p>Cicero officials believe that there could be plans in the works for a data center to replace the Hawthorne Race Course, which recently closed after 135 years of horse racing.</p><p>In a symbol of how unpopular data center developments have become, the trustees of the near western suburb are expected to consider two resolutions opposing data centers when they meet Tuesday even though no official announcements have been made about any projects.</p><p>Across Illinois, residents and local municipalities are pushing back against large data centers being developed to support artificial intelligence that are power hogs <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/consumer-affairs/2026/05/13/comed-electric-customer-bills-rising-ai-data-centers-pjm-energy-costs" >driving up residential electric bills</a>, using <a class="Link" href="https://chicago.suntimes.com/environment/2025/08/20/data-centers-ai-artificial-intelligence-chicago-illinois-great-lakes-michigan-drinking-water-jb-pritzker" >enormous amounts of water</a> and creating noise and other nuisances.</p><p>One resolution before the trustees opposes a data center at the nearby Hawthorne property, though there has been no public acknowledgement that any such plan is in place. The resolution says town officials don’t want any projects built anywhere near the western suburb of more than 80,000 people.</p><p>A mystery buyer that goes by the name of Allimac 2023 LLC agreed to pay $90 million for the property at 3501 S Laramie Ave.
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- 1 outlet, average source rating 6.0/10.
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Is Hawthorne Race Course being torn down for a data center? Cicero thinks so.
Sources1TypeCoverageChicago Sun-Times