DeKalb County board approves permits, watershed amendments and multiple contracts; public urges ban on steer tailing

At its meeting, the DeKalb County Board approved a series of ordinances, resolutions and contract awards and heard public comments urging action to prevent steer tailing events.

Public comments opened the meeting’s substantive discussion. Kathy Stelford of Sycamore Township told the board she has worked in wildlife rehabilitation for decades and asked commissioners to press for local controls to stop steer tailing. “There’s a bill S B 45 that the language can be adopted,” she said, asking the board to speak up to local lawmakers. Another speaker, Carrie De La Paz, identified herself and said she was speaking because the issue “terrifies me” and urged action. Angie Dower of Shamet, Illinois described the practice and asked the board to “introduce an ordinance that prohibits the dragging or pulling of bovines by their tails for entertainment, sport, practice, or contest.”

The board then moved through a long slate of planning, zoning and procurement items. A planning-and-zoning committee member moved to adopt Ordinance O2025-003, a special-use permit to develop and use a private fair strip at 10828 County Line Road in Big Rock; the motion carried after roll call. The board also approved Ordinance 2026-005, a special-use permit to establish a 2-megawatt commercial solar facility on roughly 16 acres in Cortland Township; the motion passed “with 3 opposed.”

On stormwater, the board adopted Resolution R2026-031 to add the Central South Branch Kishwaukee watershed-based plan to the county stormwater management plan and later approved Resolution R2025-032 to adopt the Lower Little Rock Creek watershed base plan; members thanked local partners and noted these amendments reflected years of interlocal cooperation.

Procurement items included multiple project awards. The board awarded the 2026 Hampton Road District aggregate project and the Walton Road District aggregate project to Wagner Aggregate Incorporated. It also awarded the 2026 drainage pipe materials letting to Illinois Culvert Company (Tonica) for $99,356.88; commissioners asked whether local bidders participated and were told the county is purchasing standard, state‑approved new pipe (the vendor resells material rather than manufacturing it locally).

The board granted a campus easement for a legacy bench and discussed establishing clearer processes for future memorial benches so placement and naming would be controlled. Finance reports for February 2026 were filed and the board approved Resolution R2026-036 approving payment of county claims, including off-cycle claims, totaling $7,180,428.72.

Other actions included a federal grant amendment (R2026-021), a FY2026 budget amendment moving $500,000 from the general fund reserve to the employee health insurance fund (R2026-029), and a resolution supporting local control of zoning and opposing House Bill 5626 and Senate Bill 4060 (R2026-030). The board also adopted Ordinance O2026-002 concerning public transportation in DeKalb County.

What’s next: several items were approved without requested amendments; commissioners signaled interest in developing clearer internal rules for donor-funded campus fixtures and in tracking follow-up on procurement and zoning matters. Members directed staff to bring relevant language and drafts back to committee when needed.

Quotes and attributions in this report are drawn from the board’s public transcript and are attributed to speakers listed in the meeting record.