JERSEY COUNTY – An advisory board overseeing protected Jersey County farmland at the center of proposed data center plans is now fully formed as it prepares for a future public hearing.
Jersey County Board members unanimously approved the appointments of Donna Moore, Ed Koenig and Pat Goetten to the Agricultural Area Protection Board at their Nov. 10, 2026 meeting. The board is currently chaired by Jeff Blackorby, a conservationist with the county’s Soil and Water Conservation District.
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Illinois requires any ag area advisory committee formed by a county board to include four active farmers, no more than two of which can be from the same political party, as well as one active county board member.
The Jersey County Agricultural Area Protection Board already had two Republican farmers and is now made whole with the three newly appointed members. Koenig marks the active county board member, while Moore and Goetten mark the two Democrat farmers.
County Board Chairman Mark Wagner previously said he was notified by Blackorby after reviewing a stormwater permit for the proposed data center that the site is located within a protected agricultural area which has not gone through the proper process to become “commercial.”
County governments across Illinois can preserve the agricultural use of farmland by forming “ag areas.” According to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, “Land within an ag area is protected from locally initiated projects that would convert the land to other uses.”
Jersey County is already home to three ag areas, including the single largest ag area out of 24 counties in the state at 9,637 acres, according to the department’s 2025 Agricultural Areas Annual Report.
Land can only be withdrawn from an ag area after a petition has been submitted to the county board; Wagner confirmed a petition has been submitted to withdraw the proposed data center site from the protected ag area. The county’s planning commission and ag area advisory committee have 30 days since receiving the petition to make recommendations to the county board on the potential impacts of withdrawal from the ag area.
Within 60 days of receiving the petition, the county’s ag area advisory committee must host a public hearing. Written notice of the public hearing must be provided in a county newspaper at least seven days before the hearing and given to land owners in or adjacent to the ag area. Wagner said county officials are currently working out a time and place for the public hearing to be held.
While an ag area advisory committee can make recommendations to county board members on matters including the desire to form, modify or terminate an ag area, any final decision rests with the county board.
County board members are required to make a written decision on whether to accept or reject the petition to withdraw from the ag area within 90 days of receiving the petition. Anyone adversely affected by the county board’s decision can file a petition for judicial review within 35 days after the decision is made.
Do you support Jersey County forming an advisory board and scheduling a public hearing on the agricultural area withdrawal petition for the proposed data center site? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
