In partnership with

I had the opportunity to visit Uzbekistan with Illinois Comptroller Susana Mendoza to learn how the country is investing in its workforce and positioning itself as Central Asia’s emerging tech hub.

We hosted another Data Night at our office with UChicago’s Data Science Institute, featuring Haifeng Xu, who shared insights on AI agents, data-driven decision making, and his work at Prophet Arena.

This weekend we teamed up with our portco SimCare to host the Project Pygmalion Hackathon, a two-day event focused on building AI avatars.

Illinois should be riding the AI infrastructure boom.

We have the nuclear power and a central location that make it a natural home for the data centers fueling this next wave of innovation.

Despite all of this, projects are leaving. Billions of dollars in AI infra are going to neighboring states like Indiana, Wisconsin, Ohio and Iowa.

We were was once ranked as high as #2 for data center capacity in North America, and we’re now #7. That means fewer jobs and less property tax revenue.

And it’s all because of BIPA: the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act.

Let me explain what BIPA is and why it’s so important to our AI future.

In short: BIPA (passed in 2008) was the first law in the US to regulate private-sector use of biometric data.

It requires companies to get written consent before collecting fingerprints, facial scans, or voiceprints, along with transparency on how the data is used, stored, and destroyed.

People deserve rights over their biometric data. I don’t disagree with that.

But what makes BIPA harmful is how it’s enforced.

It gives private citizens the right to sue directly, exposing companies to massive liability. And each violation can carry damages up to $5,000 per person.

And it even goes a step further.

Plaintiffs in Illinois have started targeting the data center providers themselves, arguing that simply hosting biometric information counts as “possession” or “use.”

This isn’t good.

It’s scaring the entire infrastructure industry. Even if a data center isn’t actively holding data themselves, they now face the risk of litigation just for providing storage or compute capacity.

AI companies need large datasets to train and improve models. That data often includes biometric inputs like faces and voices.

If Illinois law treats even anonymized or de-identified data as risky, companies will just choose safer states. It’s simple.

And if data centers hosting that information are also exposed, the impact is even stronger.

This is why Illinois is losing major projects. Neighboring states are winning the investment, jobs, and tax base that should be coming here.

Why should we care about data center growth in the state of Illinois?

Well because data centers deliver major property tax revenue with little strain on city services.

For Chicago, that could mean stronger budgets and resources without the heavy infrastructure demands that usually come with new development.

Illinois doesn’t need to completely gut BIPA. But it desperately needs a rework.

Protecting biometric privacy matters. But the law needs to be modernized for the AI era.

Clear guidance on de-identified data, training datasets, and the role of infrastructure providers would protect consumers while giving innovators certainty.

Other states are already moving.

Texas is a model state because their AI law requires intentional violations for liability, limits enforcement to the government, and shields companies from third-party misuse.

Illinois doesn’t need to copy Texas outright, but it does need to update BIPA so a 2008 law does not hurt 2025 innovation.

If not, we’ll keep watching the next generation of AI jobs and investment flow across our borders.

Energy CX is the fastest-growing energy brokerage in the US.

They bring data, technology, and strategy to one of the most antiquated industries.

With nearly 2 billion square feet of real estate under management, they’re building the future of energy and they need engineers to help them get there.

Check out their careers page below:

Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration 1871 X LIT

September Chicago AWS User Group

AI Native Roadtrip - Chicago

Chicago Coffee Club | Vertical AI Founders & Funders

Chicago Area Fellows Meet-Up [Climatebase Fellowship]

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram for even more Chicago startup news.