State leaders hope the new massive quantum computing development on the city’s South Side helps position Illinois as the next Silicon Valley
Getting it built was a priority for Gov. JB Pritzker, who pushed for big state funding for the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park campus in South Chicago, where the 128-acre U.S. Steel South Works Plant once sat
The goal behind the project is to boost the state’s bottom line and grow Illinois’ economy
“We’re looking to make this really the center of gravity. And to have that happen in Illinois, it’s just an incredible opportunity to have this economy here and to build an industry here and to also impact suppliers,” said Christy George, CEO of the Illinois Economic Development Corporation
She says this will create 1,000 permanent jobs, with an apprentice program supplying a pipeline of community-college grads in Chicago
“It’s not just engineers and scientists. It’s construction jobs, it’s administrative jobs, it’s mechanics, it’s repair technicians. It’s so many different types of roles that are going to be created here and that we’ll be able to support families across the city of Chicago. So it’s a huge opportunity to jumpstart an economy here in South Chicago,” George said
But with so much controversy surrounding data centers right now, many communities are pushing back against construction in their neighborhoods, with concerns about a drain on utilities and more
So how does this development differ?
“This is not a data center. It’s a very different technology,” said Harley Johnson. “This is quantum computing center and this is all about research and development. This will use much less power than the big hyperscaler data centers that we’re seeing. It will use much less water than the data centers we’re seeing. And one of the things we’re most excited about is it’ll create many more jobs and accessible jobs that you’re not seeing in that industry around AI.”
Addressing environmental concerns, the team says they’ll focus on native landscaping to provide habitats for wildlife and they’re using bird-safe tech to mitigate issues, since they’re right here on the lake
There have been quantum issues previously. Commercializing and scaling the tech has failed in the past
Like Pritzker said, touting investment, Johnson calls it a risk that’s worth it. Illinois up to the challenge
“We know that there’s potential for Chicago to be in the center of this at this moment. You know, the next 20 or 30 years can be very exciting in this industry. And we’re going to start to discover things that, you know, quantum computers can do that we can’t even conceive of today. So being at the center of the industry at this, at this moment is something we should all be really excited about and be proud of in Chicago,” Johnson said
The state committed $500 million to this project.
