Commissioners discuss union request for local-hire language in solar permits and note Illinois sales-tax change for leased solar

A union representative emailed county officials asking the county to add language to building permits for large solar projects requiring project owners and their contractors to make "good faith efforts to hire local residents" and to use union labor and apprentices where available. Commissioners agreed to forward the request to staff for review before taking policy steps. The request matters to the county because local-hire or labor-language in permitting could affect how projects are built, who gets construction jobs, and whether developers decide to build in the county. A copy of the suggested permit language presented to the board said, in part, that "Owner shall make or cause to be made good faith effort to hire local residents for local labor" and that owners and contractors "shall use only union labor in completing the project" and make a "good faith effort to work with" state-approved apprenticeship programs. The board did not adopt the language. A county commissioner asked whether staff should solicit Andy's legal and permitting opinion and the board agreed to forward the email to staff for review before deciding whether any permit condition is appropriate. A commissioner noted the risk of making requirements that could drive projects away: "We don't wanna do what Illinois has done and chase away growth because we've got so many layers of stuff on it," he said. Separately, commissioners discussed an Illinois change reported in local news: Illinois House Bill 4951, enacted earlier this year, makes leased residential solar systems subject to sales tax starting Feb. 1, 2025. A commissioner said the county's property-assessment base would not be directly affected because the tax applies to leases rather than property assessments, but he noted the state-level tax could have indirect effects on state-collected revenues that determine some local distributions. No permit changes or formal policy actions were taken; staff were asked to review the union language and provide legal and administrative guidance on whether permit conditions could be imposed and how that would interact with state or federal rules or incentives.