Galesburg Reporter

In a Jan. 27 Facebook post, Sen. Win Stoller (R-Peoria) shared a plea to Gov. J.B. Pritzker regarding House Bill 4412 and its statewide siting standard for commercial wind energy and solar energy facilities.

“Earlier this week, I sent a letter to the Governor requesting that he either veto, or at the very least, amendatory veto House Bill 4412,” Stoller wrote. “This bill will completely destroy local control when it comes to zoning for wind and solar farms. It also has the potential to be devastating to local economic growth plans throughout the entire state.”

In the letter, Stoller wrote: “I am writing to urge you to consider vetoing, or at the very least, issuing and amendatory veto to House Bill 4412, which is legislation that passed during the Lame Duck session and would create a statewide siting standard for wind and solar energy facilities. As the legislation is written, current areas deemed as 'Enterprise Zones' were not carved out or exempted. As you know, these zones are thoughtfully created to encourage economic growth and development. Under House Bill 4412, renewable projects could still be placed in these zones if the new standards are met. This has created great confusion for economic development officials and community leaders who have spent years and millions of dollars developing these Enterprise Zones.”

Farm Week Now reported the bill won its vote by 33 to 17 in the Senate and garnered 73 to 36 in the House.

According to Farm Week Now, The Illinois Farm Bureau opposes the omnibus bill, citing the absence of required enforcement by the Illinois Department of Agriculture to implement Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreements; and that there is no requirement for a drainage plan to address water resulting from rainfall.

NPR reports that the bill creates a setback requirement for blade heights, and requires occupied community buildings or nonparticipating residences not experience more than 30 hours of shadow flicker (moving shadow created by the turbine) per year.

“This legislative tactic has unfortunately become quite common over the past several years by the General Assembly on these omnibus bills,” Kevin Semlow, IFB director of state legislation, said. “We will do our best in the coming months to push for strengthening the provision if the bill is signed into law.”

This bill was signed on Jan. 27 It was originally filed by Rep. Kathleen Willis (D-Northlake) on Jan. 7, 2022.