CHICAGO – Illinois Gov JB Pritzker signed a bill into law Friday that takes decisions concerning wind farm standards out of township board hands, and extends that power down to counties and local municipalities. Townships will no longer have authority in the process – neither will townships have uniformity within concerning wind farm standards – effective immediately.
The governor wants Illinois to become 100% dependable on renewable energy – a goal he set while running for office in 2018.
“I’m committed to putting our state on a path toward 100% clean and renewable energy, and this bill I signed into law today will help get us there,” said Gov. JB Pritzker. “Illinois has over 3,500 megawatts of operating wind capacity, and under my administration, we’re going to further embrace our clean energy future and take bold action to combat climate change.”
Lawmakers argue the change in power will make it easier to bring wind farms into localities, and bring along with the industry property tax revenue.
“Wind and solar companies are making tens of millions of dollars of investment in Illinois’ new green economy,” said Sen. Bill Cunningham, HB 2988's Senate sponsor. “We can’t let unnecessary government regulation block the creation of high-paying jobs and the much-needed property tax revenue wind farms will produce for our schools.”
The effort was bi-partisan, with even House Minority Leader Jim Durkin signing on as co-sponsor. HB 2988's sponsors were Rep. Ann M. Williams - Jehan Gordon-Booth - David A. Welter - Jim Durkin - Jay Hoffman, Kelly M. Burke, John Connor, Norine K. Hammond, Keith R. Wheeler, Sam Yingling, Kathleen Willis, Avery Bourne, Martin J. Moylan, Fred Crespo, LaToya Greenwood, Kelly M. Cassidy, Robert Rita, Michael Halpin, Jonathan Carroll, Deb Conroy, Anna Moeller, John M. Cabello, Margo McDermed, Arthur Turner, Ryan Spain, Terri Bryant, Daniel Swanson, Marcus C. Evans, Jr., Joe Sosnowski, Sara Feigenholtz, Robyn Gabel, Terra Costa Howard, Will Guzzardi, Natalie A. Manley, Anthony DeLuca, Grant Wehrli, Dave Severin and Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz
HB 2988 was overwhelmingly accepted by the Democrat-controlled Illinois House – with the help of both Democrats and Republicans. The twelve that opposed the measure were for the most part Downstate lawmakers of both parties – whose districts would be directly affected by the power swing:
The same was true of the Illinois Senate – a bi-partisan group were co-sponsors, including Sen. Bill Cunningham - Thomas Cullerton - Iris Y. Martinez - Neil Anderson - Dale Fowler, Michael E. Hastings, Linda Holmes, Pat McGuire, Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, Don Harmon, Christopher Belt, Robert Peters, Ram Villivalam and Emil Jones, III. Seven for the most part Downstate lawmakers opposed the measure:
More to come …
