Doug Fagan
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?
Development of data centers in general must be conducted carefully, responsibly, and safely. Every county considering the development of data centers must provide ample opportunities for community feedback, and every concerned citizen must be heard. County boards and municipalities must also allow for a full public airing of the risks and benefits associated with these developments. Nobody wants corporate conglomerates taking over our communities and decimating our water and electric infrastructure.
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?
Our state universities in Illinois honor our state, not only with their innovation and research, but also in welcoming thousands of students every year from around the world. Science education lies at the heart of primary, secondary, and higher ed, and Illinois is a global leader in numerous fields. We reap the benefits of large and growing aerospace, agribusiness, and energy sectors and I want to work with leaders in these fields to address many of our toughest challenges we face today.
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?
Climate change is affecting farmers across the country, no less here in Illinois. Planting and harvesting seasons are different today than they were for our fathers and grandfathers. I believe farmers want to be nimble and have a robust market for their products. However, we cannot fall into the trap to merely farm the subsidy. Illinois soil can grow the widest diversity of crops in the world, and if the market no longer rewards field corn and soybeans as richly as it once did, farmers must have the freedom to diversify.
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.
Among voters today, trust in science is eroding with little true reason for it. We have an Army Corps of Engineers that takes responsibility for water and flood control at Lake Shelbyville. We have engineering and science departments at our universities with talented researchers, doing work that is growing more relevant all the time. I want to make sure researchers have a voice in policymaking, and that their voice is heeded.
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 am a firm believer in following protocols of the CDC and following recommendations of pediatricians and other medical professionals. Covid-19 showed everybody how unprepared we were for a global pandemic, both at the national and local levels. Preparedness is the best policy, which means we have to equip local health authorities with the best information and tools they need to do their jobs.