Gilbert Villegas
Chair, Economic, Capital & Technology Development Committee Chicago City Council
Seminars
Tuesday 2nd June 2026
Panel: Pinpointing the Midwest’s Next Growth Markets to Enable Faster, More Strategic Site Selection
8:00 am
- Evaluating where hyperscalers, colocators and developers are looking next: when does our attention shift to new Midwest locations?
- Weighing up rural vs urban development: understanding why proximity to urban hubs is still shaping location decisions
- Identifying major county and state-level hurdles including locating viable properties, verifying power-ready land, and determining whether jurisdictions are open to hybrid or supplemental power solutions to bridge capacity gaps
Tuesday 2nd June 2026
Navigating Municipal Permitting Realities to Accelerate Project Approvals in the Midwest
8:30 am
- Identifying regional biases and differing state approaches: how do renewable energy, hyperscale development or political dynamics shape permitting outcomes across the Midwest?
- Assessing how state and local tax incentives factor into municipal decision-making and influence project speed, approval likelihood and community expectations within regionally competitive development environments
- Learning from government leaders who have successfully removed barriers by hearing how they navigated state or municipal requirements, overcome resistance and advanced data center development despite challenging local dynamics
