Clergy leaders put public pressure on county officials with Data Center concerns

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Local clergy leaders from multiple faiths are calling for fair share of the Data Center deal with Microsoft.

The group gathering at Christ the King Catholic Church put public pressure on elected county officials negotiating with Microsoft. While the church leaders are not against Data Centers themselves, they want all the concerns about noise pollution, water, and energy use addressed, and money set aside to help struggling local neighborhoods.

"These could be revenues that would be sustaining vital public resources for our community. So, we're really concerned about that, and we want to see that a fair-share agreement is created that would prevent harms to cost of living, to our environment, and that would set up a fund that would sustainably invest in the community in meaningful ways, proportional to the investment that Microsoft is making in its own profits." says Ken Miller, Rieman at Prince of Peace Church of the Brethren Pastor.

The group called "We Make Indiana" wants to make sure Data Center agreements include tangible benefits for local families and communities, even if they do not work at one of the facilities.