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Lee County ZBA appoints retired judge to facilitate Pivot Energy solar hearings, recesses petitions to May 21
Summary
The Lee County Zoning Board of Appeals voted to hire retired circuit judge Tim Slavin to facilitate evidentiary hearings on three Pivot Energy commercial solar special-use petitions and recessed the hearings until May 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Old Lee County Courthouse courtroom.
The Lee County Zoning Board of Appeals voted Thursday to engage retired circuit judge Tim Slavin to serve as an independent facilitator for evidentiary and fact-finding proceedings on three special-use petitions filed by Pivot Energy related to proposed commercial solar projects in Nelson Township and recessed the matters until May 21, 2025, at 6:30 p.m.
The facilitator appointment and the scheduling decision moved the petitions forward without substantive evidentiary hearings on the merits. ‘‘I have no adjudicatory responsibilities. I am not for or against any particular position. I'm a neutral,’’ Tim Slavin told the board after the motion to engage him passed, describing his role as providing process and organization for the upcoming hearings.
The petitions are filed by Pivot Energy Illinois 258 LLC, Pivot Energy Illinois 259 LLC and Pivot Energy Illinois 260 LLC (petitions 25-P-1642, 25-P-16403 and 25-P-16404) seeking special use permits to site commercial solar energy systems in Nelson Township. The board chairman announced that, consistent with the board’s rules, an independent facilitator may be retained to manage the evidentiary phases.
Board members and staff also discussed available calendar dates for continuing the hearings. The board identified May 21, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in the Old Lee County Courthouse third-floor courtroom as the next available date; an additional potential date, June 12, 2025, was mentioned as an option. The board noted that the full evidentiary phase will likely require two or three evenings.
The board took two formal actions at the start of the matter: a motion to retain Slavin as facilitator, which passed with members saying ‘‘Aye,’’ and a motion to recess the Pivot Energy petitions to May 21 at 6:30 p.m. The board reiterated that the Zoom platform will allow participation when the evidentiary hearings resume and that the proceedings are streamed on YouTube for viewing only.
No testimony on the substance of the solar petitions was taken at the May 1 meeting; the board left substantive evidence and witness testimony for the dates now scheduled. The hearing will continue with testimony and evidentiary procedures at the next session.
