Godfrey IL data center moratorium extension (2026)
Godfrey, Illinois — Village Board Unanimously Extends Its Data Center Application Moratorium a Second Time, Through January 31, 2027, With the Village Attorney Advising One Further Extension Is Available (August 2026)
Godfrey, IL · Village of Godfrey, Ill. — six-month extension of the data center application moratorium, through January 31, 2027 (August 2026)
- Status
- In effect
- Expires
- January 31, 2027
- Applies to
- Developers seeking to file data center applications with the Village of Godfrey through January 31, 2027
- Enforced by
- Village of Godfrey / Godfrey Village Board
Godfrey's village trustees unanimously approved a six-month extension of the village's data center application moratorium in August 2026, carrying the pause through January 31, 2027. The original 180-day moratorium was approved in January 2026, so this is the second period, and Village Attorney Bryan Dooling told the board his review of state statutes indicated the village would be allowed to extend ONE MORE TIME after this. That detail is the most useful thing in this entry, because Illinois municipal moratorium authority is not unlimited and few of the instruments in this dataset state on the record how much runway remains. Godfrey now knows it has roughly one more extension before it must either adopt permanent rules or let applications resume. Trustee Rick Lauschke framed the coming six months as time for the board to educate itself about data centers. The concerns are the familiar ones: large water and electricity consumption capable of overwhelming municipal water systems and power grids. Godfrey is a village in Madison County in the Metro East region across the river from St. Louis. Illinois context matters here too — the governor paused state data center incentives, and state-level rules were reported as stalled, which is why at least one other Illinois city extended its own moratorium into 2027 while waiting.
Who is protected: Godfrey, Illinois residents; village water system and regional grid capacity
Legal detail
Village of Godfrey, Ill. (Madison County, Metro East) — SECOND six-month extension of the village's moratorium on data center applications, approved UNANIMOUSLY by the Village Board in August 2026, carrying the moratorium THROUGH JANUARY 31, 2027. SEQUENCE: an original 180-DAY moratorium was approved in JANUARY 2026; this extension follows it. STATUTORY RUNWAY, and the reason this entry is worth recording separately from the original moratorium: VILLAGE ATTORNEY BRYAN DOOLING advised the board that his review of state statutes indicated the village would be permitted TO EXTEND ITS ORIGINAL MORATORIUM ONE MORE TIME after the 180-day extension. Illinois municipal moratorium authority is finite, and Godfrey has therefore placed on the record roughly how much time remains before it must adopt permanent regulations or resume accepting applications \u2014 a constraint most instruments in this dataset leave unstated. Compare Otsego MN one-year data center moratorium (2026), which caps itself at one 6-month extension by its own terms, and Patterson CA data center moratorium extension Ord. 890 (2026), whose remaining one-year extension derives from Cal. Gov. Code \u00a7 65858. STATED PURPOSE (Trustee Rick Lauschke): the board should use the next six months to educate itself about data centers. SUBSTANTIVE CONCERNS: large water and electricity consumption capable of overwhelming municipal water systems and power grids. ILLINOIS CONTEXT: the Governor paused state data center INCENTIVES; state-level data center rules were reported as STALLED, and at least one other Illinois city extended its own moratorium into 2027 explicitly while waiting on those rules. Compare Rockford IL six-month data center moratorium (2026).
Key facts
| Jurisdiction | Godfrey, IL |
|---|---|
| Level | City / local |
| Strength | Moderate |
| Enacted | August 1, 2026 |
| Citation | Village of Godfrey, Ill. — six-month extension of the data center application moratorium, through January 31, 2027 (August 2026) |
| Private right of action | No, agency enforcement only |
| Penalties | Data center applications may not be filed or processed during the moratorium period |
| Topics | data-center siting and energy · consumer protection · government use of AI |
| News report | Godfrey extends moratorium on data center applications for six months — The Telegraph (Alton) |
Related data-center siting and energy rules elsewhere
- Superior WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Dane County WI Hyperscale Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- Madison WI Data Center Moratorium (1-year) · In effect
- Manitowoc County WI Data Center Moratorium · In effect
- WA SB 5982 (Data Center / Clean Energy) · In effect
- Dayton OH data center moratorium (180-day, Apr 2026) · In effect
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