Yorkville Council to Consider Settlement in Project Cardinal Lawsuit
Project Cardinal | Yorkville Herald
At its June 23, 2026 meeting, the Yorkville City Council is scheduled to consider an ordinance approving a conditional settlement agreement in the lawsuit filed by Sugar Grove resident John Bryan challenging the City's approval of the Project Cardinal data center development.
The settlement would resolve litigation pending in Kendall County Circuit Court (Case No. 2025 CH 000028), in which Bryan sought to overturn the rezoning and Planned Unit Development (PUD) approvals granted for the proposed 1,037-acre data center campus located west of Illinois Route 47, east of Ashe Road, and south of Baseline Road.
According to City documents, the settlement focuses on revising the project's development phasing plan. When the City approved the Project Cardinal PUD in November 2025, the development was scheduled to proceed in a northeast-west-southeast sequence. Under the proposed settlement, the construction order would be changed to northeast-southeast-west.
City of Yorkville. City Council Meeting Agenda Packet / Archive Document (ADID 6803). City of Yorkville, https://www.yorkville.il.us/Archive.aspx?ADID=6803. Accessed 19 June 2026.
The agreement establishes requirements to ensure that each phase of the project is substantially complete before construction of the next phase begins, with limited exceptions for circumstances beyond the developer's control.
City records note that Pioneer Development LLC, the project's developer, intervened in the lawsuit as a defendant alongside the City, the Mayor, and members of the City Council. Although the defendants continue to deny any wrongdoing or liability, the settlement states that all parties believe resolving the litigation is in their best interests to avoid the costs, uncertainty, inconvenience, and distraction associated with continued legal proceedings.
The proposed settlement does not require the City to make any payment to Bryan. However, the memorandum notes that Bryan and Pioneer Development may separately negotiate a private agreement independent of the City's settlement.
Implementation of the settlement remains contingent upon additional governmental approvals needed to amend the project's PUD. Pioneer Development has already submitted an application for a major PUD amendment reflecting the revised phasing plan. The amendment is expected to be reviewed by the Economic Development Committee and the Plan and Zoning Commission in July before returning to the City Council for consideration at its July 14 meeting.