(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — A new Meta Data Center in DeKalb officially logged on Wednesday, and multiple state and local officials, including Gov. J.B. Pritzker, were present to commemorate its launch.
“This data center is bringing investment and vitality to a truly growing region,” Pritzker said.
The governor called the Meta DeKalb Data Center a “game changing addition” to Illinois.
“At full operation, this Meta facility will support hundreds of new jobs in this area on top of the 1,200 jobs it already has created,” he said.
Those 1,200 workers helped construct the center, which still has over 1 million square feet of additions to come. The data center will be supported by 100% renewable energy, the governor’s office said in a press release.
Meta will also partner with Northern Illinois University on NIU’s Barb City STEAM Studio, an initiative meant to boost the college and career readiness of DeKalb High School students. The program focuses on engineering, robotics and other STEM fields.
DeKalb Mayor Cohen Barnes had high praise for Meta.
“This corporation has made a significant impact — not just a pretty building, not just a cool data center — the lives of people have been directly impacted significantly in our small community of the city of DeKalb and DeKalb County,” he said.
According to a press release from the governor’s office, Meta has upcoming data center projects in DeWitt and Morgan counties.
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