For decades, the old South Works steel mill site off South Lake Shore Drive/DuSable Drive has sat as a reminder of what South Chicago used to be. Now, a $9 billion plan aims to turn that rust-embroiled soil into the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park (IQMP)—a “first-of-its-kind” campus promised to bring jobs and global prestige to the Southeast Side.
But for many residents in this majority-Black neighborhood, the “future” looks a lot like the past: outside developers moving in with high-risk projects and high-voltage demands.
“The game plan never changes,” says Stephanie Williams, a 7th Ward resident. “If it is detrimental, it’s immediately into the Black neighborhoods. If this thing was as wonderful as they say, it would have been part of the Chicago skyline.”
The recently-revealed South Chicago Quality of Life Plan (QLP) frames the quantum park—anchored by California-based PsiQuantum and Australian startup Diraq—as a cornerstone of growth. Backed by $700 million in state funds and $20 million from Cook County, the project is a massive bet on a technology so new its community impacts are largely unknown. The Quality of Life Plan, put together by various community groups, is a reflection of the viewpoints of thousands of local residents, and it aims to serve as a growth plan and a strategy to upgrade the community over time.
Critics, however, are looking at data centers across the country as a warning sign. They say the Quality of Life Plan isn’t enough, pointing to red flags such as soaring electric bills, water shortages in rural areas, and nitrogen dioxide emissions.
“This facility will use enough power for a third of a nuclear power plant,” activist Akele Spencer warned at a recent rally. “That’s going to be offloaded into our electricity bills, just like data centers around this country.”
Doug Finke is a veteran in the computer industry and the chief content officer at Global Quantum Intelligence, which provides data, insights, analysis, and intelligence in quantum tech. According to Finke, the same environmental dangers created by data centers are not present with quantum.
“I am not aware of any negative environmental impacts from the quantum operations themselves. They don’t spew anything in the atmosphere, they don’t require any really harmful materials at all,” Finke said. “I don’t know of any issue where they’re going to either discharge anything in Lake Michigan or even use Lake Michigan water. It’s all a closed loop.”
He added that the quantum development would use high levels of electricity, which would impact electricity costs.
“The good thing about Illinois is that there’s a lot of nuclear power plants in Illinois, which is at least clean power,” Finke said. “It doesn’t burn like natural gas or coal or anything like that.”
According to a report from Gov. JB Pritzker’s administration, these clean sources of energy, such as wind and solar power, are not keeping up with the demand for data centers. The demand is leading to higher electric bills.
Whether the extra energy costs would be taken on by the developers of the quantum facility or nearby residents remains to be seen. The biggest issue at the site, Finke said, is the toxins “that might still be left over in the soil.”
Residents and organizers have spoken out about the toxins at the site, which include arsenic and petroleum hydrocarbons, according to tests done at the site. The developers of the quantum project submitted a remediation plan for the site late last year.
The Fight for the Ballot
The resistance has already hit legal walls. A grassroots group, Southside Together, attempted to place an advisory referendum on the March ballot to halt the development. The Chicago Board of Election Commissioners tossed it out, claiming the referendum’s wording violated state law by asking more than one question.
While some want to kill the project entirely, others are playing a game of leverage. The Coalition for a South Works CBA is pushing for a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA)—a legally binding contract to ensure the neighborhood isn’t displaced by the upcoming development through rising housing costs or poisoned by disturbed soil.
Their demands are steep and specific and include the following:
- A 15% property tax reduction for 30 years to match the breaks given to developers.
- Strict environmental safeguards to shield residents from “brownfield” toxins during construction.
- A community-accessible credit union and affordable housing guarantees.
“You Are Not Going To Stop That”
Not everyone in the coalition thinks a total shutdown is possible. Anne Holcomb, co-founder of the environmental group, Environment Transportation, Health and Open Space of South Shore (ETHOS), says the sheer amount of government money already committed—over $1 billion in total—makes the project immovable.
“You are not going to stop that. I don’t care how many snow plows you have with cute names,” Holcomb said. “What we are fighting for is a win-win… let’s make it so our community gets something out of it.”
The developer, Related Midwest, claims they’ve already listened. In a statement, they cited “over 50 public meetings” and promised the full remediation of the site, thousands of jobs, and 100 acres of parkland.
However, the Coalition says the developer has yet to actually acknowledge their specific CBA demands. Related did not comment on specific questions about demands for a CBA.
Clifton Muhammad, owner of the South Chicago-based record shop, the Record Track, who was also part of the QLP planning process, said he wants a written agreement from the developers.
“We’ve heard a lot of expectations around what one might expect to see when they get a bigger neighbor,” he said. “But what I would love to see is some accountability around those expectations, just something in writing, so that we’re not guessing and assuming.”
The General Iron Shadow
As the ground breaks and the cranes move in, Southside Together is preparing for its “Southeast Side People’s Assembly” on March 7. They’ve invited Mayor Brandon Johnson to answer a simple question: In the rush to build the world’s most advanced computers, who is looking out for the people living across the street?
According to Sanya Bhartiya, a Southside Together organizer, Johnson has agreed to meet with the group about the quantum development, but has yet to confirm a date. He will also be unable to attend the March 7 assembly.
Steven Renderos, executive director at MediaJustice, a national nonprofit that analyzes how technology enables harmful policies and amplifies community-led solutions, told The TRiiBE that all hope is not lost for a reversal.
Said Renderos: “Just because they’ve broken ground, it does not mean that there are not any more decisions to be made.”
South Chicago has a long memory. Amalia NietoGomez, director of the Alliance of the Southeast (ASE), points to the 2021 defeat of General Iron as proof that the community can topple giants. After a hunger strike and massive public outcry, the city denied the metal scrapper’s move to the neighborhood.
Said NietoGomez: “If the community gets it in mind to stop something, I think it’ll stop.”
