Illinois Environmental Council Honors Mayor Laesch
Published on October 06, 2026
The Illinois Environmental Council honored Mayor John Laesch with the Milestone Achievement Award at its annual Environmental Leadership Dinner on Friday, October 2.
The award, which is given to leaders who drive major environmental policy and legislative progress in the State of Illinois, recognizes Mayor Laesch’s innovative approach to the City of Aurora’s new data center regulations, which are considered some of the most robust safeguards across the country.
The regulations, which were approved by the Aurora City Council on March 24, include updates on zoning standards surrounding data centers throughout City limits, plus establish a formal definition for data centers within the City’s Zoning Ordinance. The ordinances state that future data center developers must enter into an agreement with the City to adhere to all regulations and performance standards before beginning construction and must submit a baseline pre-development sound study, a noise modeling study, a water consumption and quality modeling report completed by a third-party engineer, and an energy consumption modeling report. Future data centers will also need to be designed to meet noise standards, vibration standards, energy usage standards, and water usage standards, plus install and operate either on-site renewable energy generation techniques or on-site resilience storage procedures. Additionally, the City’s regulations enforce compliance with strict biometric data privacy safeguards, including the prohibition of the sale or profit of biometric data and the issuance of an annual certificate of compliance from the City.
“Through these regulations, Aurora has demonstrated that sustainability and economic development can move forward together,” Mayor Laesch said. “I will continue to put people and planet first by protecting our residents and the environment from the harmful effects of data centers, while working with prospective developers that align with this mission.”
The Illinois Environmental Council touted Mayor Laesch’s leadership in receiving the award, citing his championing of Aurora’s data center regulations as a catalyst for protecting water resources, energy reliability, transparency, and neighborhood quality of life.
“Mayor Laesch’s work reflects many of the same principles as Illinois’ proposed POWER Act and has helped to shape the conversation on responsible data center development across the State.”