Chicago aldermen approve quantum park, but environmental concerns remain

[December 13, 2024]  By Jim Talamonti | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park is a step closer to being developed, but residents have questions about the project’s impact on Lake Michigan.

The Chicago City Council voted Wednesday in favor of a zoning designation that was needed for the quantum park to move forward. The Chicago Plan Commission approved the proposed development last month.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced the project in July on the former U.S. Steel South Works site on Chicago’s Southeast Side.

Vanessa Schwartz, executive director of Metropolitan Family Services Southeast Chicago Center, cited environmental issues with the former U.S. Steel site.

“The land has been surely contaminated. One of the concerns is, once construction starts, what toxins, if anything, will be released into the community,” Schwartz told The Center Square.

Quantum computing requires extremely cold temperatures for cooling. Schwartz wondered if water for the cooling process would be drawn from Lake Michigan.

“Where are they storing that water once it’s utilized? And what is going to go in that water, and once that water has done its purpose, are they going to put it back into the lake? What is that going to be putting back into the lake, which is the city’s drinking water,” Schwartz asked.

Project officials say the final designs of the cooling system are still under development, but they say it is “increasingly likely” that there will not be a need to draw water from Lake Michigan or the Chicago River. Officials also say the cryoplant will not use any chemical pollutants.

The Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park will take $700 million, including tax incentives, from state taxpayers and $280 million from federal taxpayers, plus Cook County and Chicago tax incentives.

A rendering of the PsiQuantum campus in Chicago

Illinois U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Springfield, has introduced legislation to further fund quantum computing with $2.7 billion from federal taxpayers over the next five years.

“Quantum technology is our future. And as Illinois continues leading the world in quantum research and innovation, it’s critical that our federal research agencies are fully funded,” Durbin said. “The National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act will help ensure the United States leads the world in computing, security, and connectivity.”

The funding is intended to accelerate quantum research and development at federal science agencies – including the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the National Science Foundation, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the National Institutes of Health.

“Fact is, when America invests in science, we lead the world, and nowhere is this truer than in advanced computing,” Durbin said.

According to Durbin, the bipartisan bill would directly support the existing NSF quantum research centers, including the two NSF quantum centers led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Chicago. The bill also would authorize NIH to study biomedical applications for quantum technologies, which complements the NSF Quantum Center run by the University of Chicago. The bill also directs coordination with the National Labs, including Illinois’ Argonne and Fermilab.

Durbin says the legislation complements Durbin’s bipartisan Department of Energy Quantum Leadership Act, which would reinvigorate R&D projects at DOE by authorizing $2.5 billion in funding over the next five years – well above the $625 million for DOE-related programs laid out in the now-expired National Quantum Initiative Act of 2018.

Developers hope to have the Illinois Quantum and Microelectronics Park operating in 2027.