Demerike “Demi” Palecek
DemocraticQ1 Illinois currently has 138 data centers, with 8 underway, and plans for 29 more. Additionally, the cost of electricity and water are on the rise with nearby data centers straining current resources in combination with increased energy costs to consumers. Data centers also have several environmental and health impacts, such as significant water usage and noise pollution, which can lead to decrease in net economic gains. What policies, if any, do you support in managing existing data centers or establishing additional data centers? What specific plans do you have, if any, to mitigate utility cost burden for residents? Why these steps?
I believe we should require data centers and AI companies to power their own facilities and pay higher rates to access residential power. I believe we must add residential priority to energy supply laws, requiring the grid to supply homes, hospitals, schools, and other essential civilian infrastructure before data centers. Consumer protections that stop data centers from pushing energy costs onto working people, and end all tax credits and subsidies to AI and social media companies. Our greatest asset in Chicago is the Great Lakes and the river we have worked so hard to clean up. Significant water use and noise pollution are destructive to a city that sits almost entirely on marshland. I’d prefer these steps because we cannot ask taxpayers and working people to keep carrying the burden; everyone is too strapped to watch their tax dollars go to another billionaire’s next yacht.
Q2 Research activities in Illinois heavily depend on federal funding. However, federal funding cuts for science research and agencies like the NIH and National Science Foundation leaves the future for science research less assured. What policies, if any, do you support or plan to implement to secure funding for continued science research at either the state or federal level?
I would like to work on multi-year authorizations that help medical researchers avoid coming back to the table to ask for funding when politics could change. Medicine and research don’t care about politics; science doesn’t respond to a D or R next to its name, so we can’t let political fickleness determine our ability to combat deadly diseases. I’d be interested to know what increased state partnership with high-quality research institutes and the university system could do to insulate us from DC’s inability to act like adults. UIC has been a long-standing and respected institution in human health research, and I would like to find a way to get back to fully funding their research.
Q3 Illinois is an agricultural hub, making it an important factor for the state’s economy. What policies or plans do you have, or support, to support Illinois agriculture against changing weather patterns?
I want to work with farmers to identify their needs and advocate for a future agricultural sector that isn’t reliant on fossil fuels. We must also work to expand Right to Repair laws and protections in Illinois, as they directly affect farmers’ ability to maintain their own equipment without incurring large fees and downtime. Addressing changing weather patterns will require federal investment, but at the state level, we can continue to advance green legislation.
Q4 Scientific issues increasingly influence public policy. When developing policy positions or making decisions on topics involving science, how do you seek out information, evaluate scientific evidence and expert input, and ensure your decisions are well informed? If you can, please share an example of when this process influenced your perspective or decision.
I haven’t held elected office before, so I haven’t made policy decisions. In my own life, I look to medical experts and doctors to explain topics I haven’t studied and rely on their guidance to choose the best path forward, along with my body’s needs. I will look for peer-reviewed information and experts when planning to make policy recommendations or working on legislation.
Q5 Measles and whooping cough (pertussis) cases are on the rise in Illinois, with multiple outbreaks in 2026. How have you, how do you plan to, address this public health concern? How will you plan to work with relevant stakeholders (epidemiologists, scientists, physicians, for example) to mitigate this problem?
I trust science and I would work with the relevant stakeholders to ensure science and facts are put at the center for how we address public health. We need a state action plan for the case of a failing executive at the national level being unwilling or unable to comprehend science and medicine. I would work with local and state officials to find funding that could be directed to work on preventive plans to combat deadly diseases.