Prairie State Wire

We covered the legislative bait and switch going on regarding wind and solar matters in this article just yesterday.  Specifically, this new legislation, if approved by the house and signed by the Governor would strip local control from county governments when it comes to zoning matters on wind and solar energy.

The Governor was asked a very specific question in August of 2022 during an interview that was published on WRAM, at the 31:02 mark of the audio.

“As governor, would you support legislation to create statewide controls over the siting of wind or solar projects?”

Pritzker: No, in fact I’ve specifically avoided that. We’ve got to have a continuous conversation, the one that we’ve been having for years now between the state and local governments and local control so that we decide together about siting.”

With Pritzker on the record that he would not support legislation to create statewide controls over siting of wind or solar, it will be worth watching HB4412 which proposes doing exactly what Pritzker claimed he has specifically avoided. Will he be a man of his word or will he do as past Governors have done and do the opposite of what they have said they would do?

Anyone who reads the proposed legislation can clearly see there is nothing in that bill that implies the state and local governments are deciding together. Quite the contrary.  It strips the counties’ powers and mandates they must comply with what the state designates for setbacks.