Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Will County committee debates local control of solar farms, seeks options after state limited discretion
Summary
Board members and state lobbyists discussed the county's reduced authority over solar development after state action, lawsuits against approvals, and options ranging from seeking limited clawbacks of authority to continuing local special-use permitting to retain community influence.
Will County Board members pressed state lobbyists about the county's ability to control placement of utility-scale solar farms after recent state law reduced county discretion.
A committee member asked whether the legislature had moved to restore county control. Matt Murphy, a state lobbyist with Max Strategies Group, said the legislature had intentionally reduced counties' latitude to ease renewable development and that a full reversal was unlikely in the next two years. Murphy suggested a narrower approach: identify “egregious” local outcomes caused by the change in state law and use those examples to seek a limited return of discretion.
M…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
