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Yucky process, but probably the right result
Thursday, Apr 4, 2019 - Posted by Rich Miller * Current state law allows counties to establish standards for wind farms and windmills. But some townships in Douglas County have decided to impose their own rules and a company that wants to spend $340 million on a 200-megawatt wind farm is suing. Illinois has 102 counties, so that patchwork of regulations is bad enough. But imagine the potential problems if 1,432 townships step in with their own rules. Hard pass. So, a bill was introduced in February and amended last month to make it clear that counties - and only counties - have the authority to regulate these things. The House already passed the bill 95-12-1. The Senate passed it yesterday 43-7-1.
This is not a perfect solution and it is unusual that the General Assembly is stepping in during a court case and the process was unnecessarily rushed in the Senate. Also, some folks have serious gripes about what they view as lax county rules. Sen. Rose says the issue has sharply divided people in his district, and I do not doubt that. But we need some semblance of uniformity and predictability here. State law already says counties should be in charge. Townships were given no explicit statutory role. If this is allowed to continue, other townships could very well jump in with their own rules.
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- fact checker - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:44 pm:
Small fact check, the Senate passed this yesterday 4/3/19, not today.
- Can’t use Anonymous as my name - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 3:57 pm:
If only we could give the counties explicit responsibility over everything townships try to do
- NeverPoliticallyCorrect - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:06 pm:
Seems that townships have outlived their purpose in an age of instant communication and the ability to travel most counties within an hour. Services can be easily coordinated.
- illini - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:07 pm:
I am a huge proponent of alternative energy strategies ( wind, solar etc. ) as a opposed to the destructive coal and gas industries.
I have been reading about this local controversy in the News-Gazette.
Chapin Rose appears to be trying to be both the judge and the jury in this local dispute that may have implications state-wide.
Sad
- You Bet - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:10 pm:
Wind farms are almost exclusively located on farm land. The agriculture community has ALL of the muscle in Douglas County.
Isn’t it just easier to take over the Douglas County Board with your own people and make the rules you want? This is about the Douglas County Board not playing ball with the land owners. The land owners have all of the juice, take over the unit of government.
There, solved it for you.
- Anyone Remember - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:24 pm:
Townships should be merged into county government. That single action would eliminate approximately 20% of Illinois local governments.
- Thomas Paine - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:38 pm:
How much googling will it take to find Chapin Rose complaining about big government in particular and the many units of government in Illinois in particular?
- Papa2008 - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:41 pm:
Are we not a representative democracy? The people in the township don’t want the farm. Case closed. This is only an issue when people with money don’t want to take no for an answer.
- Rich Miller - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:44 pm:
===Are we not a representative democracy?===
Yep. And the duly elected state legislature and the governor approved a law giving control to counties, not to townships. Some townships have defied that law. Townships are a creation of the state. Deal with it.
- Amalia - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 4:53 pm:
Townships should be gone. One township supervisor recently called her township the laughingstock of townships. that’s a very low bar.
- Nick Name - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 5:01 pm:
The President of the United States says noise from wind turbines causes cancer. When will the GA deal with that?
- Six Degrees of Separation - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 5:54 pm:
I have a feeling that the feds will step in at some point on alternative energy (after this current federal administration) and make it easier to site the wind farms, solar fields, and power lines that will be needed to convert to a renewable-based grid. In the meantime, common sense laws like this will help balance the public interest and make the process more predictable and uniform.
- wordslinger - Thursday, Apr 4, 19 @ 7:06 pm:
“Instead of allowing those folks to have their day in court, we’re going to statutorily legislate an outcome for that court case,” he (Rose) said Wednesday.–
He said that out loud? That’s some unusual candor.
–In an unusual move, Senators held a hearing on the bill when it was still in the House of Representatives, saying that they would discuss it, but not vote on it under the assumption that it would be sent straight to the Senate floor.–
Somebody hired the right lobsters. Like stuff through a goose.