One of the largest data center markets in America will exempt data center owners and operators from paying sales tax on the IT inside the facilities – from servers and storage to liquid cooling solutions. Illinois lawmakers recently passed a data center tax incentive as part of the state’s $45 billion capital construction budget that exempts qualifying data centers from state and local sales tax on the equipment inside the facilities for the next 10 years. The budget was signed by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker this week.

SPRINGFIELD — When state Sen. Sue Rezin began serving in the Illinois General Assembly nine years ago, she saw a culture at the Illinois Capitol that fostered sexual harassment — "pervasive behavior" that when reported wasn't taken seriously, she said.

The American Midwest is at a turning point as it confronts the global climate crisis. It’s a landscape of opportunity, where investment is starting to pour into renewable energy, farmers are turning to climate-friendly practices, and automakers are introducing new electric vehicles. But its path forward is still cluttered with obstacles.