Illinois Bait & Switch: Telehealth Athletic Trainers Bill Becomes Wind & Solar Energy Bill Which Strips County Zoning Powers –

Illinois (ECWd) –

As outlined in this article, A majority group of Illinois Legislators have proven once again the methods of madness in Washington D.C. are the path for the People in the Land of Lincoln.

Just like the gun ban bill, the legislature used a shell bill for Telehealth and highjacked it into a Wind and Solar energy bill that strips county zoning and sets state-wide criteria regarding setbacks for Wind Turbines and Solar panels. Senate Asst. Majority Leader/President Pro Tempore Bill Cunningham is the person who filed the amendment to the original bill.

A non-Nonparticipating Residence would have a setback limit of 2.1 times the maximum blade tip height of the wind tower to the nearest point on the outside wall of the structure.  So, a 500-foot tower with 100-foot blades has a tip height of approximately 600 feet, thus a setback of a whopping 1260 feet from an outside wall.  This is about 2/3rds less than what many counties have adopted in their wind farm ordinances.  Edgar County adopted a 3250-foot setback and did so with sound guidance and research on the matter.

This bill, if approved in both houses will strip counties of their local control and require them to adopt the state standard if their setbacks are not consistent with the states.

The legislature tried to pass similar legislation in 2021 and it was opposed by 2/3rds of the counties in the state.  Knowing they would once again receive pushback the path was to push this through in the dark of the night, hidden in a shell bill bait and switch tactic.

Any legislator who participates in this process should be ashamed as this does not represent a Constitutional Republic, but rather a Dictatorship.

We understand this bill may see its final vote on Tuesday of next week, the last day of this legislative session.