Clients look to David Streicker for counsel on complex energy, data center, transportation, manufacturing and other infrastructure ‌projects throughout the country, relying on his guidance through every phase of development, financing and operation. David provides clients with practical, strategic counsel that integrates regulatory, transactional and environmental considerations to keep projects moving efficiently.  

David advises clients ‌across the energy sector on matters involving project siting‌ and permitting‌, regulatory approvals, ‌acquisitions and due diligence, public‌-private partnerships, tax and project finance incentives, and key commercial contracts such as power purchase ‌(PPAs), off-take, gas supply ‌and operating agreements‌. His experience spans a wide array of assets, including electric generation assets (waste-to-energy, gas, wind, solar‌ and combined heat and ‌power), transmission‌, pipeline and smart-grid infrastructure, battery storage, coal conversion and bio-refining ‌facilities, mining projects‌ and large-scale intermodal and airport ‌developments‌. In addition to his project development experience, David is an experienced litigator, having tried many matters in both state and federal courts, along with administrative hearings, binding arbitrations, mediations‌ and significant matters before the Illinois Commerce Commission.

Prior to joining Polsinelli, David served as general counsel and ethics officer for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the State of Illinois' primary economic development agency, where he lead the state's legal efforts to modernize and transform the State’s energy infrastructure, leading investments in the then nascent wind industry and the biofuels sector, and efforts to successfully land the world's first near zero emission coal fired power plant. ‌‌‌‌

Education

  • University of Illinois College of Law (J.D.)
    • Miami University (B.A.)

      Bar Admission

      • Illinois, 1999

      Court Admissions

      • U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois, 1999

      Professional Affiliations

      • Midwest Energy Bar Association
        • ‌Board Member, 2012-2020
        • Former President, 2018 ‌
        • ‌Former Vice President‌
        • ‌Former Secretary
      • Clean Grid Alliance
      • American Bar Association
        • Member, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources
      • American Clean Power Association
      • Electric Power Conference
        • Member, Advisory Board, 2009-2014
      • Illinois Enterprise Zone Association
      • National Governors Association
        • Former Member, Cleanup of Federal Facilities Working Group
      • State of Illinois
        • ‌Former Member, Interagency Military Base Support and Economic Development Committee
      • ‌Evanston Youth Lacrosse Association‌
        • ‌Board Member and Treasurer‌, 2015-2022

      Recognition

      • Selected for inclusion in Best Lawyers in America® for Energy Law, 2026
      • Selected as a "Leading Lawyer" in Energy Law; Public Finance Law; Governmental, Municipal, Lobbying and Administrative Law, 2012-2022
      • Selected for inclusion in Illinois Super Lawyers "Rising Stars" for Energy and Natural Resources, 2013- 2014
      Publications
      How the EPA’s New Rules Could Spark Backlash for Data Centers
      Stacy Stotts and David Streicker discuss the EPA’s proposed changes to federal air permitting rules, which are intended to accelerate data center development by allowing certain non-emitting infrastructure components to be built before full Clean Air Act permits are issued. They explain that while the proposal could shorten construction timelines and help meet growing demand for AI-related infrastructure, it may also face legal challenges and intensify public scrutiny of the environmental impacts associated with large-scale data center projects. Stotts encourages industry stakeholders to engage in the rulemaking process, while Streicker notes that the proposal could speed project delivery without fundamentally changing the environmental considerations that influence where data centers are ultimately built.
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      New Legislation Overhauls State and Local Regulations for Commercial Wind and Solar Farms
      On January 27, 2023, Governor Pritzker signed a bill that will transform the way counties and municipalities in Illinois locally regulate the development and construction of commercial wind and solar energy generation facilities. This alert from Polsinelli’s Energy Project Development Practice analyzes the new statutory language and highlights some changes that the bill will impose to streamline the patchwork of development standards across the 102 counties in Illinois.  The Broad Scope of the Siting Bill Will Touch All Renewable Energy Projects The new law revises 55 ILCS 5/5-12020 of the Counties Code, which authorizes counties to establish local standards for wind energy projects. Prior to the recent revisions, developers were subject to myriad local standards that often varied significantly on a county-by-county
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