County Board - Regular Meeting

All right. Good morning everyone. Welcome to the Will County Board meeting for April 16, 2026. I will call this meeting to order. After the pledge and invocation, we'll give you some housekeeping just because obviously this is a a unique venue for us. But at this time, I'm going to ask everyone to please stand for the pledge of allegiance and the invocation. And um member Freeman will lead us in the pledge of allegiance. Morning. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Uh, is this on already?

Oh, wonderful. Uh, again, good morning. I'm here to introduce Pastor Matt Tuck. He is a lifelong resident of Joliet and a pastor serving the Will County community. He is a student pastor at the Compass Church's Three Rivers campus in Planefield. He has served students and families for the past 10 years. In addition to student ministry, Matt also leads the church church's college age and young adult ministry, helping young adults grow in faith and purpose. His wife serves as a paraprofessional in the Romeo school district and they recently welcomed their first child, a baby girl, a and continue to live and serve in the community where they grew up. Matt.

All right. Thank you, Micah. Uh I don't know. Test test. Um good morning everybody. Uh yes, my name is Matt. Um I have the honor and privilege to do the invocation today. And uh it's true. I am a new father. Um, our daughter just turned six months old on Tuesday and, uh, we love her to death and she's the cutest baby in the world. And I'll fight anybody who disagrees with me. Um, uh, but what's not cute is, uh, when we can't get her to sleep. Um, we ran into about maybe about a month ago an issue where we we had been, um, sleep like letting her sleep on us at night in order to get her to sleep. I don't know if parents in this room have ever resorted to that. Um, and uh, we we realized we're not getting any sleep and so we decided we need to do something about this. So, we decided to start sleep training our daughter. Um, and we're going to put her down in her crib and we're going to get her to sleep on her own was the idea. Um, but that caused a little bit of friction between me and my wife because we weren't sure exactly how that should work or how to do that. Um, and so we both did our research, right? Right. We both did our googling and our ask in chat GBT or whatever you do. And uh uh we were trying to figure out do you when you need to when your baby wakes up in the middle of the night, do you feed her right away or do you let her cry for a little bit and try to um re re get herself back to sleep? And I thought one thing and my wife thought the other thing, right? Um, so but but e even though we were disagreeing about it and we were kind of arguing about it, we both love our daughter was the point and we both love each other and we both wanted what was best for her. And so uh I think I think of local government very similarly. There's a lot of us with different backgrounds, different perspectives, um different opinions, and yet we all care about our county. We all care about our neighborhoods. we're all here for the same goal and that's to uh do what's best for our community. And that was

what me and my wife were doing. We just wanted what was best for our daughter. We ended up getting a compromise where we we selected if if she wakes up during these hours of the night, we'll feed her. If she wakes up in between those hours, we will let her try to refall asleep and it's worked beautifully and we got our lives back and it's wonderful. Um, and so I guess that's my hope today is that is that we meet together all remembering why we're here and that's for the betterment of Will County. With that being said, I'm going to pray for us. Um, if you're so inclined, go ahead and bow with me. Uh, Lord in heaven, I just thank you for today. Um, I know there's big important things to decide here at this meeting today and I just pray for the hearts of all those who are here. Um yeah, I I thank you for the privilege of public service and for this community we all share. We ask for your blessing on the members of this board and all who serve here today. May they bring open minds to their discussions uh thoughtfully considering each issue before them. May they lead with respectful hearts recognizing the dignity and worth of every person they serve. Uh, may they remain committed to the good, common good, I should say, seeking what will best strengthen and unite this community. Grant them wisdom as they listen and deliberate, courage to speak truthfully, and humility to work together even when differences arise. As this meeting begins, Lord, may you support them with clarity of thought, steadiness, and character, and a continued commitment to serving all who call this county home. We offer this prayer with gratitude and hope for the future in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen.

Thank you for being here pastor and congratulations. So before we call roll I am going to do a little bit of housekeeping. So as I mentioned obviously this is a new venue. Please be patient. We're using all new technology. Our our format is not the same. County board members, you are not live on your your mics. You still have to be pressed in to speak. Um I'm I'm going to use my colleague uh to my left uh Clerk Parker to help me if you have discussion to raise your hand. We'll create a list of uh of speakers. So you will all all have your time, but it is obviously a little different format. Um today is for public comment. We have two podiums on each side. You're welcome to stand on either side. I'm assuming staff back there is going to uh to turn you on. Um just like any other public comment, you have three minutes. We do have someone, we have Robin here who is going to be monitoring the timer. She will let you know when there is 30 seconds left. Uh at 3 minutes, she will tell you there the the bubbles will go off. You have three minutes. Staff in the back will give you about 10 seconds to wrap off up and then you will be uh your microphone will be turned off. Um we do have police here. I can guarantee you they do not want to have to step up to the podium and have to ask you to leave. So, please let's be respectful uh of the process. And please, like I said, let's let them have a nice uh morning and not just have to observe and be here to protect us and uh make things seem calm and not have to escort people out. Um so, we appreciate that. Uh washrooms are outside. Uh there is one right outside to my right. There's also one outside in in the lobby. Um, usually after public spending, depending on the time, we like to give a break, but just because these washrooms aren't conducive to large really large crowds, you may see members. Um, again, depending how long it takes have to get up and and use the washroom. They are not being

disrespectful, but if we give a break, everyone will run there and we won't get back here in time. So, I'm just letting people be aware that we will not take a break, but members may have to uh use the uh washrooms. I've explained the county boards, please raise your hands. We're taking names. Um, a couple things during agenda items. During old business, uh we do have to vote on four uh resolutions because it is a court order. There will be no there will be no comments during that because there is nothing to discuss. There'll be no discussion by county board members. Uh the speaker will make a statement. Uh this was discussed at leadership prior to that vote but that is all we will we will do during our land use committee. During our land use committee um again there is no there is going to be no one from the public nor the applicant will be able to speak. Land use committee will answer your questions and that's only the only uh group that will be allowed to answer county board member questions during that time. Um I don't think I am missing anything else but again um I know this there's a lot of emotions here today. Um a lot of tension. Uh we are here uh to fulfill our duties and I hope we can do so in a in a respectful way. So I do appreciate people who will show up and exercise your right uh to um come and speak to the the county board. Um and again I just hope we can get through this again in this new environment. Uh we're all a little tense but in a relatively unscathed. So with that, Madam Clerk, will you please call the role?

Richmond Williams here. Dean Schlottman Ogala Prtzel Butler Newquist Oxley Brooks. Yeah. Winfrey Bullock. Logan, Freeman present. Revis Mitchell,

Ortiz, Burkowitz, Hickey, Costa, Traineer, Bandine. With 19 members present, we have a quorum. Um, I need a motion to place on file the certificate of publication. Motion by Van Dy, seconded by Revvis. Madame clerk, please call the role. Richmond Williams Dean Schlottman Ogala pretzel Butler Bich yes Oxley Brooks yes Bulock Logan yes Freeman Revis Mitchell Burkowitz Vicki

yes

Costa Rid 19 in the affirmative the motion carries can I get a motion moving on to approval of minutes. I need a motion to approve the minutes from the March 19th, 2026 board meeting. Motion by Mitchell, seconded by Traneer. Any discussion? Is there a previous roll call? Previous by Brooks, seconded by Hickeyi. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. I need a motion to approve the minutes from March 19th, 2026 executive session. Motion by Freeman, seconded by Mitchell. Previous roll call by ballot, seconded by Costa. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. Madame clerk, will you please acknowledge the elected officials and media present today? Today we have county executive Jennifer Bertino Tarant, County Clerk Annette Parker, recorder of deeds Karen Stuko, treasurer Tim Brophy, we have Mayor of Shorewood CC Debold, and Mayor of Shanahan, Mayor Missy Schumacher. and media. We have the Herald News, uh Bob Okon from the Herald News, Michelle Mullins from the Daily Southtown, and Alice Febra from the Daily Southtown. Thank you. We'll now move. There's no honorary resolutions or proclamations today. We'll move on to public comment for agenda items only. So, this is for agenda items only. So, at this time, if you would like to make a public comment, you can come up to one of the two uh podiums. As I said, you will have three minutes. We'll give you a 30 second uh shout out to wrap up your comments, and after 10 seconds beyond that, uh our staff will turn them off. Please state your name for the record, though. We need your name at least for recording purposes. Thank you.

You guys using this mic? Is it this madam executive? Okay. Uh good morning everybody and thank you to the county board. My name is Clarence uh Clarence CC deb for the village of Shorewood. I I come here to you today regarding old business items from the zoning case ZC25041 and ZC25043. Today, the county board has been forced into an unprecarious position, forced by a will county judge. I commend the county board for their previous approvals of denials of these two solar facilities that were in Shwood. Unfortunately, the state law seems to have some confusion on it. And again, we do feel the county board voted in the best interest of the residents representing the village of Shorewood and the circumstances and the impacts it would have created. I do still urge you to vote in your best interest on these cases. I do know that there's been a ruling and some documentation about that regarding how you should vote. But again, I here I am here to support the county, its members on behalf of the village of Shorewood for doing the right thing on these previous cases. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Maria Bree. I'm an attorney with Fox, Swel, Levan, and Carol. I'm here for ordinance 26-099 regarding zoning case 24-011. I represent Shanahan McKinleywood Solar 1 LLC and Shanahan McKinleywood Solar 2 LLC. I'm also here for ordinance ZC24-0 sorry 101 regarding zoning case 24-117 representing NL Galger Solar Solar 1 LLC and NL Galger Solar 2 LLC. Uh I know there are mixed opinions in the room and we really do look forward to putting uh the dispute behind us, collaborating with the county and the villages going forward. I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you. Uh thank you. Good morning everybody. I am Missy Schumacher, mayor of Shanahan. I'm just I don't need to repeat everything that uh Mayor Debold said, so I will just add a couple of points. I want to make sure to thank the county board for your support of local control. Um we do appreciate your support. We appreciate that you hear our voices. Um I want to be very clear. I am not against solar. We have approved another solar project in a different area of Shanahan. I am pro- labor. I am pro- job. I want everybody to work. And even this solar farm, we offered to find them an appropriate site. And I'm sorry, I'll go back. It is a zoning case 24-01. Um the we spent the day in Springfield yesterday and they made it clear that it was not the intention of the legislation to take away local control. But as written there are unintended consequences and they have put the county board in a no-win situation. I also understand Judge Brun's ruling.

He is simply interpreting the law as written. Um, it is shortsighted and I think the Shanahan solar question, solar project is probably the most egregious example of those unintended consequences. We have a 160 acre island of unincorporated property in the geographic center of Shanahan. Um, it is not on the outskirts. It is right in the middle of a residential area. Um, and ordering a governing body to vote in a specific way is not representative government. Um, so thank you for your time and thank you again to the county board for your support.

Hello, my name is Larry Kash. I'm a Will County resident of 30 years, a veteran search and rescue team volunteer. I took the day off so I could be here today to speak. Why not approve the projects? Well, some say they love their beautiful view. They love the fields of green. This is their way of life. Yes. For 5% of of Will County residents, that's true. 95% of Will County lives in town or cities. You do not live in the rural areas. May I please ask for a show of hands for the people in the room who are Will County farmers? I see three. There are three farmers here. Four. Who are the opposition? I don't understand. Where do they come from? Isn't it wonderful how year after year you have somebody, a farmer to nurture the land and make the fields beautiful for you, you know, but you don't have to pay for that? Some people say we're losing food production. Is that so? 95 million acres of Illinois land are are used for farming uh are for farmland. 97% of that is for corn and soybeans. That's for to feed livestock to produce ethanol and processing plastics. Only 3% actually go towards delivering food for our tables. 3%. 1,000. That's at 0.1% of Illinois land is used for solar

uh energy production. And keep in mind, solar generates 100 times more energy than corn ethanol. 100 times per acre. So why should you approve utility solar projects? We want to transition off of coal generated energy. Coal is dirty, poisonous. It leads to climate change. All around you, you see plants closing. People are sick of it. We want clean, affordable, renewable energy. Thousands of acres of solar provide that. And I'd like to close with two other points. We want affordable energy. We want to honor the property rights of family owners. They're protected by federal and state law. White squatters drive the them into bankruptcy. Solar leases throw them a lifeline. Thank you.

We on. Okay, there we go. Good morning. My name is Jason Brashler. I'm here to voice my support for these solar farm proposals being raised here today. I've been to a couple of these meetings and I've heard these proposals described or characterized as government overreach. And I wanted to bring this issue to the forefront because it doesn't really uh seem accurate. And in fact, the opposite appears to be true. These solar projects are being put in motion by farmers who are trying to make money off of their own land. They're making a personal decision to use their own land to turn a profit. The only government in inter intervention in play here would be if the board chose to vote against the solar farms. That would be the overreach. If the board votes against, that would in fact be the government preventing farmers the ability to choose which crop they'd like to harvest. In this case, it's sunlight. This seems absurd. Why would the government override a cherished right, one at the core of what it is to be a US citizen? the right of a citizen to own and make decisions about their own land. In past meetings, uh the dominant opposed arguments uh could kind of be boiled down to a phrase about aesthetics uh not not wanting to look at solar panels. Concerned about the rural character of the county being diminished by the appearance of solar panels. Is that worth overriding the right of these farmers to make decisions about how to use their land? Is this how local government should act? is concerned about aesthetics, which I think we can all agree are subjective, grounds to deny the right of a farmer to decide how to use their land. Add on to the fact that many of the farmers choosing to use their land for solar are doing so not to become rich, but because they need the profits. Farming is hard and it's not getting cheaper. The board should consider that some of the farmers may need to sell their land if this deal doesn't work out. Is aesthetic concern worth taking bread out of the mouths of struggling farmers? I I don't believe so. And in my mind, local government should be in the business of making decisions, even if they are tough decisions that uphold principles found at the core of what it is to be an American. It also needs to make decisions uh that are in the best interest of a community, even if part of

that community opposes them. The fact is, we are currently facing an affordability crisis, a climate crisis, and an energy crisis. At the end of last year, the Illinois Power Association released a resource adequacy study that underscored the dire state of our power grid. We are in danger of an energy capacity shortfall by 2029. This could mean rolling brownouts for our community. Voting yes for these solar farms is to meet these challenges head on. Voting against them kicks the can further down the road. Please vote to approve these solar farms. Uh good morning. Uh I'm Roger Kramer. I am from beautiful Ford County and thank you for giving me a platform to and I want to give you a little bit different perspective. I am pro solar. Uh I have two hats. One is I am a land owner in the Ford County uh process down there and I've been working with Earthrise for the last four years and they have been nothing but fantastic to work with. when they say they're going to do something, they do it. Uh it's also been great to work with a team that hasn't changed and rolled over. So many times when you work with these different corporate entities, there's a constant flux of different people and talking out of the side of their mouth. They have been nothing but straightforward. And then working with the unions uh down there has been fantastic. They've been great to work with. uh they've created a safe environment and they've also been really good stewards of the land and as a homeown as a farm owner my brother lives right up to the uh solar farm and they've been nothing but great to work with. It's been very unobtrusive. And then so as far as the homeowner my or

the land owner, my experience has been great. Uh super. It's allowed my brother and my sister and me to have a guaranteed income uh for the next years. We know what that farm is going to produce and it gives us great peace of mind. We're allowed to do what we want to do with our farm ground. My second hat is being in business for 47 years in Gibson City. Uh what a benefit it was to our community to have them there. uh from right down Main Street, from using at the hardware store to the restaurants, people living in the area, renting homes, it's been a tremendous boon for our local area and let alone the millions of dollars that it's going to generate for our schools because we all know what our property taxes have done and it's been very beneficial for our school. it's going to be more it's going to continue to be beneficial for our schools. So, I just wanted to encourage you from somebody that's been at this for four years working with them that's a quality company and you would be great. Basically, you're in partnership with them.

30 seconds. I do ask the board if they have a question that I you feel I could answer, I would be glad to answer. If you don't, I'm going to head on back to Gibson City and uh go back to work. Thank you.

All good to go. Okay. Uh good morning. My name is Alfredo Asencio. I am the director of apprentichip at Launa Labors International Union of North America. I am the director of apprenticeship at our uh training center. And the reason I'm uh here is because I want to thank you all for the opportunity to speak. Uh I am a 16-year uh resident of Will County and I have been given the opportunity to be a resident uh in Will County because of um projects such as the solar uh with our union trades. As a young boy, I grew up in Chicago in a very humble upbringing to where I did not know what a pair of Nikkees was until I was 16 years old. And that's because I actually am the one that worked for them. My parents did not have the opportunity to afford them. They didn't even have the opportunity or let me restate that they would have to think about how they were going to take their two kids to the hospital or to the doctor. Uh I remember breaking my wrist and uh having my father duct tape it because he just couldn't afford the uh doctor bill. Now, with projects like this and hearing that there would be an opportunity to possibly uh employ 100 additional apprentices, that just gave me a thought of an opportunity, an opportunity of a lifetime for those individuals to work amongst a thousand trained union workers, union laborers, and give them the opportunity to prosper as I have 16 years as a Will County resident hasn't wouldn't have been possible if I wouldn't have been given this opportunity. Uh I have a beautiful wife, two beautiful children. I've had the opportunity to now uh put them through sports. One of them is about to go through college. And um again this

opportunity came because of opportunities that can be given by uh approving the solar farm projects to Willians and uh see individuals lives prosper. I have heard the lives of many apprentices change from those that were living in cars to now getting to the point where they're about to actually buy their first home. And although we see that the jobs may be short-term, 30 seconds.

Thank you. Uh although we see that the jobs may be short-term, these are careers of a lifetime that can be built. So if you all would, I would ask that you please give those individuals an opportunity as I have been given an opportunity to prosper here in Will County. So thank you very much for your time. Have a great day. Uh hello, I'm Andy Penelli. I live in Homer Glenn here in the village uh or here in Will County. Uh I'm a member of the village of Homerglenn environmental committee. And for the past dozen years, I've been a volunteer advocate for various state, local, and national legislative policy initiatives that promote energy affordability and reliability uh in a way that promotes cleaner air and water with the least amount of climate harm. So, I can think of some important reasons to support uh the Plum Valley Creek solar project. Uh America and Illinois and Will County are hungry for electricity. While Illinois may have a little bit of excess capacity at the moment, uh it won't in the near future. And uh given the very steep uh growth demand projections that we're looking at, AI is here, EVs, building, electrification, it's all happening and it's happening fast and we need to build capacity to prevent future outages. uh the Palm Valley Creek solar project is an opportunity to uh accomplish some energy stability uh for the future. Secondly, electrical electricity bills are skyrocketing because of that growing demand. And renewable energy, especially solar, is the fastest, cheapest energy to get onto the grid in support of an all of the above energy strategy, which

is needed at this moment in time. Uh, this particular project gets that power even faster onto the grid than, uh, normal solar projects. So when there's responsible opportunities to address energy reliability and affordability uh to address that crisis or those dual crises and you can do it in an environmentally beneficial way uh that benefits Illinois, America, and Will County, it's really a compelling argument to vote yes in favor of that. uh especially when you're looking at the great greater good type of arguments. It also brings jobs in commerce. So I support the CIT area uh chamber of commerce and their recommendations to move forward with this project and I'm hoping you'll act for the greater good of Will County residents in voting yes on the Palm Valley Creek Solar Project. And thank you for all you all do for Will County. Thank you. Hi, good good morning. My name is David Striker. Uh, thank you for hearing me this morning. I'm here to talk about old business, specifically agenda item 113. This is OAD26-100 and ZC24-041. Uh, I'm council to the applicant, RIPL Solar, uh, 13. Um, have just a couple of quick comments. um in the board packet that went out regarding the ordinance specifically in condition 4, uh we would like to request that that condition be slightly modified to reflect what was agreed to uh at the ZBA hearing, which is specifically that on-site power lines and utility connections must be installed in accordance with the submitted site plan. Uh again, this is also consistent with the April 8th order

from the judge. Um and we would ask that that change be made. And secondly, we would ask that the appellent agent um be modified to reflect that that proper party is RPI Solar 13 LLC. So with those two changes, if we could request those for the record, uh I would appreciate it. And thank you.

Can you repeat what case?

Yes. ZC24-041. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Reggie Greenwood. I'm the executive director of a economic development organization and I've been involved in a variety of economic development projects in my career. I really have never seen a project as substantive and as well done as this solar project. Earthrise has proven to be a a company with great expertise throughout the work they've been doing. It's clear that they will be able to put together a project that meets all the requirements that we would like to have here uh in Will County. I also though would like to echo the really need for clean electricity for our region. Many of us may not know but that the price of solar producing electricity in the last five years has fallen 80%. I kid you not, 80%. So there are uh opportunities now that were not there a few years ago because of the technical changes that have allowed the price of solar to fall. And we in in the northeast Illinois are also committing to many economic development uses that require electricity. Uh the I guess you know the big one is several new manufacturing companies that's open in the region. You know, the new project at u that Hyundai is doing in Joliet is a really a fantastic project that will require a lot of electricity. There's the huge new data center that was recently approved that will require a lot of electricity. So, the demand for electricity will grow rapidly. And then I think most of us really have not

recognized just how rapidly the price of solar has fallen. So uh and that's such a unique uh business plan they have where they purchased the peaker the natural gas peaker plants. So it would be possible for them to pull this power together and get it on the grid far faster than any other project. So I fully support this project. I think it will have a great economic development impact on our region and I look forward to seeing uh solar in the ground. Thank you very much.

Hi, my name is Jay Rizzo. I'm from Cree here in Will County. Um, yes, renewable energy is a good thing and yes, creating jobs is also a great thing, but do we do it for the detriment of the rest of the community? as one speaker brought up earlier uh how what's the percent of farmers are being affected. So my question would be which of your fellow community members who are you going to sacrifice so that you have a cheaper energy? Who are you going to sacrifice so that we can you know help the rest of the community? Just as the pastor spoke earlier when he uh with his uh introduction was we should be looking at this as working together as a community not as individual jobs not as individual companies. This solar company and many of the solar companies out there are not in the business of just to to save the world. They're in the business to make money. They are backed by venture capital firms as this one is and also supported by other investment banking firms. Would they be doing what they're doing? Would they be able to have the kind of return on investment if they were not getting the subsidies and the tax back debt and equity that they're receiving from the states and the communities? No. Because it would not be a profitable business. These same investment banking firms are the ones that are buying up residences across the country and turning them into rental properties under the opice that they are beautifying the community. They're saying the same thing to us now. Yes, we need renewable energy, but we do we need to do it to the detriment of our natural resources. 140 million acres are have been gone in the last four decades. I mentioned this

before, but when's enough going to be enough? When are we going to turn around and say, "Wait a second. We need to preserve some of this farmland because we need to have the cattle, the beef, the pork, whatever it is, the the crops to feed ourselves. Are we really going to continue to buy more and more from China, from pigs that are raised in highrises and induced with chemicals? Is that the meat you guys are willing to accept in the next 10, 20 years? It's not going to be on us. It's going to be on our children and our grandchild. 30 seconds.

So, all the laborers here, I I apologize. I know work is work, but are you going to get this short-term gig, as was just mentioned, the short-term job, so that your grandchildren are going to be eating chemicals out of beef and animals that are imported from other countries that do not have the best interest and need for us? Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Bill Wagner. I'm a retired supervisor and past trustee of Green Garden Township and former member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. And I am actually in favor of solar, but only if it's put in the right place and follows our comprehensive plan for growth. I am not from Ford County. I'm from right here in Will County and in Green Garden Township. As far as benefits of solar, don't be fooled by the marketing rhetoric. There is absolutely no binding commitment to lower our electric bills. In fact, some infrastructure needs to support AI data centers suggest our electric bills will go up. Consider the depreciation value of the solar panels and how the depreciating value lowers assessed values to eventually zero, thereby lowering the expected tax revenue. Compare that to a proposed residential subdivision on the same property that will appreciate in value and thereby increase our tax revenue for over 50 years. I pass several established solar sites on a daily basis and I never see a soul on site. They go up relatively quick, then the work is gone. Compare that to a subdivision where many homes are being built for many years providing sustainable work for the trades. For a judge to tell you, a county board member, or anyone for that matter, how to vote, the means to obtain a vote by force is extortion by definition. It sure seems like voter fraud, and that's wrong. We elect board members and judges to be a part of the solution and support our communities before the people and by the people, not a part of the problem. Clearly, the process is flawed. Let's be a part of the solution and write the wrong. And again, I do support solar, but only in the right places. Thank you.

Good morning, county executive, county board members, elected officials. My name is Patrick Young, representative International Union Operating Engineers Local 150, representing 24,000 members, of which better than600 of them live in Will County. I come here this morning uh to let you know that Local 150 supports this project. Um the Earthrise Solar Project, Plum Valley, um Earthrise has executed a project labor agreement for this project, uh committing to 100% union jobs. Uh these are jobs for apprentices. These are jobs for journeymen. These are jobs for Will County residents. And there are jobs for those that are uh anticipating or wishing to get into uh the trades through the higher 360 program uh governed by the state of Illinois. Um this is energy onto the grid through the peaker plants. Um, with that being said, Local 150 hopes you vote in favor of this project. Thank you for your time.

Hey, good morning to everyone on the Will County Board. Um, I'm Jennifer Garlet and I'm a care member. Um, I'm a longtime resident of Will County and I wanted to talk about um why we need clean renewable energy in Will County. Um, we're already seeing the health effects of climate change which include um increased allergies, seasonal allergies, increase in the number of ticks and tickorn diseases. um people who have to work outside in extreme heat and I think we should be concerned about that. Um, we're seeing other climate change effects, um, such as increased droughts, increased flooding, um, unstable climate, um, rapid temperature swings that we didn't see before, um, increased tornadoes, and I want to talk especially about wildfire smoke because I used to think we were immune here in the Midwest from wildfire smoke, and that is not the case anymore. I mean, it's just been in the past few years. You have to and I love to be outside in the summer, but I love to go kayaking and hiking, but I have to check the weather and see what the air air quality is because sometimes I can't go kayaking or or even walking because the air quality is so bad because of wildfire, smoke. We never had that before. Um, and so we have to ask, what kind of world are we leaving to our children and grandchildren? Um I think this solar project, you know, it does respect property rights of farmers. They can choose if they want to lease or sell their land um for the solar project. And another um and I want to mention about farming. I mean a percentage of our farmland where corn is grown is actually

used for energy production which is ethanol. And that's something to think about. Um, and this project with this project, the land can go back to farming in the future. Say we get other clean energy on the horizon such as truly green hydrogen, then the land can go back to farming in the future. Um, unlike warehouses or a data center where the land probably can never be farmed again. Um, so I'm asking you to vote yes in favor of the solar projects for our county. 30 seconds. Thank you.

Good morning. Good morning. Thank you, Madam Chair, members of the Will County Board for giving me the opportunity to speak. I am Patrick Hosti, director of the Chicago Area Labors, Employers Cooperation, and Education Trust, also known as LEIT. Bless is an organization comprised of over 20,000 union laborers, many of them who live here in Will County from 15 local unions in the Chicago Laborers District Council, also known as Lyuna, and its approximate 1,400 reputable signatory contractors in the 9ount area, northeastern Illinois. We at Leet work to bring union labors and contractors to together to develop opportunities beneficial to one another and to the people who depend on their services, including the citizens of Will County. There are many clear reasons why this committee should support Plum Valley, including but not limited to the tax revenue generation, the addition of muchneeded energy for the grid, and the expansion of solar energy resources to strengthen the competitiveness of Illinois businesses and encourage continued investment in Will County. Another reason to support this ambitious development is the amount of construction jobs that it will provide for the skilled laborers represented by Les. This proposal will help stimulate the local construction industry while providing steady incomes and well-deserved benefits for our union laborers and their families, which will ultimately be pumped back into the local and regional economies. Simply put, Plum Valley will provide construction and non-construction jobs alike while bolstering the local and regional economies with this direct and induced investment. Lastly, there's been some dis discussion or argument that the construction jobs that this project creates would only be temporary. Please know that the women and men in the building trades work on projects for a certain amount of time and then move on to other projects. It may be a high-rise, a bridge, a solar field. Regardless, these union workers work

enough hours to qualify for well-deserved health and pension benefits and provide for an income for their families on all these so-called temporary projects. On a personal note, thankfully my father worked on countless temporary projects during his career as an operating engineer and provided for his family, especially my mother who lived a dignified life after my father passed away at early retirement age. But for these temporary projects like Plum Valley, I don't know where my family would be. The Plum Valley Solar Project represents a responsible community supported clean energy development. 30 seconds.

This project strengthens the local economy, supports union labor, protects farmland, and delivers long-term benefits to Will County while helping meet Illinois's growing energy needs. Liona builds today's infrastructure for tomorrow's needs. We proudly support this plan and respectfully urge you to vote in favor of its approval. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Dave Kestle, fourth generation farmer here in Will County. I'm speaking in opposition of the solar. Something people don't think about. You're going to put a solar farm on 80 acres and I farm next to that 80 acres and you're going to drive all these I-beams in the ground. You're going to destroy drain tiles there that are not going to be fixed. I'm positive of that. So, it's going to it's going to screw up the drainage for miles around in other farmland around there. And I did talk to Earthrise about it. I'll be the first one to admit it. And it came down to the end and and they said um or I I said to the lawyer that was looking at the contract and I said, "So, let's just say in 10 years they come up with another solar panel that's better than the one that's out there and they can't afford to make this one work anymore." And they walk away from the project and the lawyers said, "Well, there's bond money there to put it back to farmland. I don't really think that that would ever happen." But if it did go the full length of a contract, 20, 30 years, and they pulled all this stuff out of the ground, they talk about how the soil would be back to like virgin soil again. Uh that is not a fact. You're going to go out there with heavy equipment, and God bless all you operators. Um you're going to go out there with heavy equipment and you're going to compact that ground back to a construction site, and it it won't be right for many, many years after that. Tiles will be broke and all that. it just long term to go back to farmland. It'll never happen. Um none of us well I probably won't be here in 30 years. I won't see it. I'll look

down from the clouds in the heavens to see that it's not going to work to go back to farmland. Um thinking about the wildlife, the ecosystem that is here that that's always been here, the natural, the wildlife and all that. Uh it's going to screw that up. And as far as being green, there's nothing more green than corn and soybean fields. Nothing. And maybe maybe you ought to think about that instead of your agenda and the thickness of your wallet. That's all I have to say. Hello. Good morning. My name is Jason James. I'm a union organizer for Labor's International Union of North America. In Will County alone, our organization represents over 2,000 hard-working middle-class men and women of all races. They live, they work, they support their families right here in Will County. As you already know, clean green energy is the future. And right now, we are living through one of the biggest economic transitions of our time. When we build solar farms, we're not just creating jobs, we're producing power right here in Illinois. Strengthening our grid, stabilizing our costs, and keeping investments in our community instead of sending it out of state. These are once in a-lifetime solar projects that we would love to say we're part of creating and do not want to miss out on this remarkable opportunity. The millions of dollars of tax revenue these solar projects will produce over the years will tremendously help our school system and local community in a way will county has never seen. Earthrise Energy has provided us with our plan vision with complete transparency and hold themselves to the highest standards when coming to the health and safety of our community. And with that being said, our organization and members are all on board. So, please approve these solar projects so our members can get to work. Thank you for your time and consideration. Good morning. My name is Lo Huarez and I work for LANA, the Labors International

Union of North America. Launa currently represents over 2,000 members in Will County, Illinois. We are asking that the board approve the Plum Valley Solar Project. These projects will provide our community residents and skilled union labors with good paying and excellent benefits. Uh they will also create uh valuable career opportunities in the trades along with permanent employment opportunities for the community. Thank you.

Hello. Good morning. My name is Taylor Olsen. I am a 16-year member of Lyuna. I also am a Wool County resident. Uh I live in unincorporated Will County uh unincorporated Wilmington. Um I am here to speak on behalf of the Plum Valley Solar. I think that projects like these are the ones that our county needs to be um investing in and or allowing to become a thing because I for one have been affected by projects that have been uh flooding out our infrastructures and everything else that you know while they're great tax revenue generators um we have to live with the truck traffic and everything else. I I feel like it would be a shame if we didn't allow projects like these to move forward. And I I I think investing into our infrastructure instead of against our infrastructure is very important. Thank you.

Good morning. My name is Jack Connelly. I'm a union organizer for Lyuna's Great Lake Great Lakes region. I'm here today uh on behalf of Lyuna and our just over 2,000 members here in Will County to show our support for this for these projects that Earthrise is uh introducing to these communities. These projects provide great opportunities for our members who will be sourced directly from Will County and have received top-notch training in solar construction at our Luna Training Center. These members will be able to spend these the hardearned money from this project at local businesses, maybe help them buy a local home, and obviously help support their families. These are all things that I would say everyone in this room uh strives for. Leona and myself support green and renewable energy projects such as these ones, these solar projects and uh we hope that everyone in this room can agree to that as well. Thank you.

Uh good morning uh Will County Commissioners. My name is Paul Fosco and I'm a member of the labors union in the Joliet area. I am here asking you to approve these projects. Projects like these keep individuals like me and my brothers and sisters working to provide a better life for our families. It gives us the opportunity to keep food on the table, a roof over our heads, and gas gas in our tanks, clothes on our backs, and a paycheck coming in. Also, as a f recent first-time home buyer, I'm currently re researching many ways I can save money because we, as we all know, inflation is on the rise and cost of living is through the roof. One of the ways I'm looking to save on bills is using solar, which solar, which will dramatically lower the cost of electricity. Recently, I was visiting my grandfather who has solar panels on his roof and confirmed to me that his electrical bill was dirt cheap due to solar and switching over to solar was the best thing he ever did. With more jobs, cheaper ways to provide electricity to our homes, and more power for this community, it will be because of you. This will be a reality by approving these projects. This is common. This is a common sense measure and and is a no-brainer with all the positives this brings to our community. This is pure clean energy that we need to take advantage of. So, please vote yes for these projects. Thank you. Good morning, Will County Board. My name is Mark Ule. I reside at 34107 South Rivals Road across the street from the order 26-100 ZC 24041 solar project. Two years ago, I met the fellow that bought the property recently across the street and on my side of the road, and he informed me he was going to put a solar farm there. This is a land speculator that does this for a living. These farmers that have

the rights to to sell their property to whoever they want. That's not the case in this one. This is a 40 something acre plot of land that for 39 years since I've lived there has been corn or soybeans. I said, "And now you're going to put a solar industrial facility across the street." And I said, "I will fight this. This is not the location." I'm not against solar. The business model that they use that puts their power generating onto the power lines goes right onto a three-phase line that our communities have put in for future development. That's what puts them in amongst people's homes. It's they they got a 100 foot setback on their properties for these solar farms. That's literally over there is where I'm going to have an industrial facility with 24-hour lighting where previously I had corn and soybeans and 24-hour lighting, a 45 decel constant hum fencing all around this facility. And it's going to stay like that for the next 30 years. Like I said, I have no issues against solar if they put these facilities out in the country where they say that there's plenty of acreage. This is putting them in and amongst families. Now, he sold also sold the property to a to a homeowner across the street. He did develop that for homes. If it was homes, like previously said, the taxes would far out out exceed anything that the the county is going to get over the long haul for these things. Now, this pro this young property owner is going to have to he's built a house there and he's going to have to look at this solar industrial facility the rest of his life with his young family along with me who I've been there for for 39 years. I'm just saying that they for for two years now the W County Board has correctly voted down this land use for this particular location on the merits or the benefits and the the the detriments far out the benefits of this

property. I I urge you to vote against this this facility even though this judge wrongly seconds wrongly said that we can't that they can build it against public I'll cry. Thank you very much for your time.

Good morning. My name is Jeremy Strong and I'm a member of the laborers union. Um, I speak at these things quite a lot on behalf of my members. And every time I prepare a speech where is all the statistics and facts in the world, but when I listen to both sides, I do the same thing. I tear the speech up and I have to speak for what I believe and what I know to be true. Um, what I believe I believe everyone here, no matter what side of the fence you're on, we believe that we want our comm communities to grow and thrive. And with that, you need a grid to sustain such things. And if you're a fur baby parent or a regular kid parent, I would assume you believe you want some clean energy to sustain that. This project provides that. Now, what do I know? I know that the men and women of Lyona are your neighbors. I know they build your hospitals. I know they build your schools. and I do know they want to build this project. So I urge the board board to vote yes and approve this project. Thank you.

Hello, my name is Zachary Ule. I've been a lifelong resident of Will County. Um my father just spoke there. Uh he spent his career as a union man building powerhouses, building building the refineries along the road roadsides that we'll see. Those are still creating energy for our community. They're dirty. They're gross. They mess up the rivers. You can say whatever you want about them, yes, but they're still there. They're still providing energy. I can still have the benefit from the work my father did 2530 years ago. I don't I don't know. I hope I want the solar p solar panels that are being built to have that same effect, but I I I don't think that's true. My whole commute to work is about to be all solar panels. I have lived in this county my whole life. If I plan to live here my whole life, my girlfriend and I want to have riding stables. She's a passionate equestrian. I don't know that that is going to be here in this county available for us to develop. I don't I don't know where we're going to be able to go should this go through. And this is your decisions being made. Like you guys voted correctly. I appreciate that. I I really do. Like I I appreciate that. I'm I want it to be different. I want I don't want you guys to be pushed under penalty of law to do something that you know is isn't right. I don't want to be hyperbolic, but I I feel that like our homes are going to be open air prisons once all of these get

set up and where we have to drive by it. And people are talking about the need for AI and data centers and stuff like that. That's where this energy is coming from. Give it five years. I can almost guarantee that we're going to have a better way to create energy if those data centers do what they're supposed to do. So what are we doing here temporarily? What? And my father after his union career to fight this solar farm, he went and had calluses on his knuckles with his political career. He was knocking on doors. You guys shouldn't have to do that to keep your homes the way you are setting up for your families. I feel like I'm in wacky world because I've got lobbyists from Washington that are supposedly for environmental environmental things and it's all subsidized money coming from our own dollars. It's I thank you. Thank you for voting how you have voted. Do what you feel is right, please. Thank you. Morning, Will County Board. My name is Ray Sundine and I'm a lifelong Will County resident. I'm also a Wilmington fire commissioner. Um, and I'm here to ask you to please vote yes in support of the solar project. Um, my family has owned a small farm just outside of Wilmington and Wilmington Township since 1922. My mother would love to have a solar project come to her property. It would help her to pay her taxes. Our taxes keep going up. Our schools are going down. People keep talking about they want to build new subdivisions and and have families come. That adds a tax burden on the schools. Please, I ask you to vote yes for this project. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Caitlyn Hamllo. I live and farm in Sabbrook, Illinois, which is home of Earthrise's Gibson City Solar Project. I'll be the first to admit that solar coming into our community made me nervous. However, over the last four years of Earthrise working and building in our community, I can attest to their dedication for the betterment of our community. They're an honest company that does their best to do the right thing. I've personally watched them get advice from stakeholders and land tenants in the community. They've corrected mistakes when they've gotten something wrong, i.e. the tile um that that we were addressed earlier. Um, and I have watched and I and that they strive to do the right thing whenever possible, both for the land that they're stewarding and the community around them. Solar is an important part of the energy of the future. Whether it be now or in 5 years or in 10 years, alternative energy is coming and will be an important part of of powering our communities whether we're excited about it or not. While I'm not current a current community member of Will County Will County, I urge the board and the people of of the community to understand that Earthrise is one of the good ones you should want to do business with. Earthrise has led with humility and integrity and is an a company that you can that you can trust to have your comm community's best interest in mind. Turning farmland into solar is absolutely a hard decision, but doing it with the right company can make decision and the transition a much easier one. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Ronald Prisbilski. Um I'm a farmer in Will County and um I'm also a solar owner on my house and I agree with solar. Um in fact um I agree with my solar bill. Um, five months a

year I don't have a electric bill and the other months I pay about $25 for my house and I have a $3,300 square foot house. Um, what I don't like is taking high productive uh farmland out of use to put in solar farms. Um, I believe every farmer who owns land has the right to do whatever they want with it. And I'm sure engineering works on the best place to put solar farms. Um, one idea though is that uh in Will County, Will County owns about 26,000 acres of forest preserve too, which has a lot of wide open areas and stuff like that. There should be some kind of survey where uh there has to be some nice places in Will County that uh or perhaps the county could lease some land to uh solar energy companies where there's uh probably plenty of good places to not take good high productive land out of uh production um which or lower production uh land where uh we don't have to waste these good fine high productive uh acres out of production for someday when we're going to need it. Now, agriculture has become very uh uh orientated with making crops more productive and higher yields and stuff like that which is offsetting these many acres taken out of production for uh different um solar fields and other production and of course buildings that are being built and stuff like that. But, uh, I think there's more productive, non-productive land where, uh, a lot of these, uh, projects could be built. I'm totally in favor of solar. Like I said, I put solar. I'm the first, uh, residential house in Will County to

have solar. Um, seven years already in 2018, I put solar on my house and, uh, it's paid off very well. I was able to get in when the government was giving SRX out very well. Uh, it cost me $28,000.

It cost me $28,000 to put it on my house. And at the end, with all the credits, it only cost me $5,000, which has paid off already. So, I enjoy the benefits of solar. I'm sure everyone else will, too, once it comes in line, but uh I think there's better places to put solar. Thank you. Good morning members of the board, madame executive, land use staff, uh, and everyone here today. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Talia Tavor, and I'm the director of community engagement at Earthrise Energy. Before coming to Earthrise, I spent my career running environmental advocacy campaigns focused on protecting clean air, clean water, and conservation across the US and internationally. My focus has always been on public health because environmental decisions shape people's daily lives and that's a value I bring with me to this role. As a public benefit LLC, our approach is different from that of a traditional developer. In addition to delivering a successful project and creating real measurable community benefits, it also means that we have significantly more flexibility to contribute to local efforts. By doing that in a meaningful way starts with listening. We know that trust is not built overnight. It takes consistency, transparency, and a willingness to listen even when that feedback is difficult. And so our goal has always been to develop a good project and to get the word out about it. We've hosted open houses. We've met with numerous elected officials. We've knocked the doors of hundreds of houses in the project area and met with dozens of community leaders. Those conversations directly shaped our commitments, including several community benefit agreements. We've also worked to invest in the community through numerous efforts, including workforce development opportunities well outside those created through the construction of our project. I have personally spent months working with the extended learning department at Governor State University to create a firstofits-kind drone training program

for low-income communities, creating pathways for long-term stable careers. I know many of you in the room have heard of our RISE grant program where we support local organizations and initiatives that are already making a difference. Our goal there is to be part of what is already working. And there truly is so much that is already working in Will County. The sheer number of organizations committed to uplifting community needs here is inspiring. And it is a testament that this is a community that shows up for each other. It is because of that that we've been able to award nearly 100 grants, scholarships, and sponsorships in Will County. Because of our presence in the community through our peer plans, we're able to make investments like these from the outset that sets us apart from other developers. As a result of those efforts, we received 43 letters of support and hundreds of petitions in support of our project. And we know there will always be people who take a cynical view of our giving efforts. And there's very little I can do to convince people otherwise. But it is important for me to say

30 seconds. Thank you very much. We do not put conditions on our generosity and support for community. In fact, there have been many organizations that chose not to write us a letter of support or come to these hearings to testify who we continue to work with and continue awarding grants with. Even now, the point has always been to truly demonstrate our commitment to what's important to this community. At the end of the day, like I said, our goal is to build a great project that aligns with the spirit of Will County. Thank you very much.

Thank you for being here this morning. Uh my name is Randy Jurus. I uh been a resident since 2002 in Will County. We moved to Home Glenn to get away from the city and since that time we've watched many changes happen in Will County and not all of them have been for the better. If you think that solar is not a very good thing to be a neighbor to, you should talk to the people in Aurora, for instance, that are living next to Cyrus 1, not too far from here. They just allocated 795 acres to a data farm that's going to have an awful lot of infrastructure of all sorts going to be supporting it. Also, you could talk to the people in Jackson Township who never thought they were going to see North Point. North Point came. No one could stop it. It's there. Nobody likes it. I realize that these people think that this is going to be open spaces, farmland. It's changed. It's going to continue to change. The question here is, what are you willing to put in there? something's going to go there. And solar at least does not make noise, you don't get toxic fumes from them. And while it may take some effort to get it up, once you get a data center in there, once you get a power station in, you're going to see a lot of trouble getting rid of that. I hope you do continue to think about what you're going to be putting there, what the long-term ramifications are, and how much simpler and better it is to have solar than some of your other projects. Thank you. Good morning and thank you for the time

and the opportunity to speak and introduce myself. My name is Graham McFall and I serve as the environmental director here at Earthrise and I oversee the environmental compliance for this project and our other portfolio projects as well throughout the state. Quick background on me. I grew up in m in Minnesota and have a bachelor of science from the University of Minnesota majoring in aronomy and plant genetics with a minor in sustainability. Prior to joining Earthrise, I oversaw environmental permitting, construction, compliance, and post construction environmental monitoring for various renewable and commercial projects across 36 different states. When Earthrise approached me three years about this, three years ago for this role, they offered a vision which every environmental professional yearns for to build a program that puts environmental stewardship first. It was an opportunity I had to take and from day one, we went hard to work. Besides ensuring that we have all the applicable environmental environmental permits and that we're engaging early and often with federal, state, and local regulators, I also pridefully pridefully task with helping the company design and develop responsibly as it relates to protecting natural resources. While other developers choose to impact these natural resources, here at Earthrise, we are committing to being a good steward of the land and avoiding them at all cost. And we've identified all these during our site diligence. Regarding site diligence, we've been out in the field with several dozen crews for the last 24 months. We're identifying jurisdictional wetlands and water features, suitable habitat for threatened and endangered species at the federal, state, and local level. And we're also out there looking for archaeological and architectural resources that we would like to avoid and which we all show as part of our site plan in our application. I want to emphasize that we will continue to work with the county and closely with the water conservation district leading up to the site development and building permit and continue showcasing our

avoidance strategy. We also completed glare and sound studies for this project and concluded that the sound results meet the IB the Illinois pollution control board standards and glare will not negatively impact the surrounding area. Lastly, I'd like to highlight that in the spirit of sustainability and land stewardship off and efforts, we look to deploy agravtaics or dual use of land on this project. As an example, there's a solar project a little further bit south where we partnered with fish fish and wildlife and feeasants forever. 30 seconds.

Thank you. And restored 700 acres of prairie. At the time, that was the largest private land prairie restoration project in the state. and we will look to do the same here. Another event that sets us distinguishes distinguishes us from our peers is prior to construction we will preede all the construction area. Everything that'll get touched. This is good for soul conservation, water and w erosion. We also look we also partner with local veterans to join our beekeeping initiatives. And thank you for your time and thank you Hi, my name is Joseph Horn. I'm an engineering manager with Earthrise. Uh, thank you again for taking the time to hear us today. I just have a few comments related to some questions that were brought up tonight and at previous hearings I want to go over related to design, construction, and operations of the facility. This project will utilize crystalline silicon solar panels. Uh these are panels that absorb the sunlight both from the front but also the back which greatly increases their efficiency. Their main materials are glass as the layering metal aluminum or steel frames and then crystalline silicon solar cells. Unlike some other panels like cadmium teluride, these are solid and non-toxic materials. So there's no risk of a hazardous liquid leeching into the soil because there are no hazardous materials in these and they are not liquid. Next, I want to talk about the sequencing of the construction for Plum Valley Solar. Um, the overall construction span for the project is 18 to 20 months, but at any particular parcel, that's going to look uh significantly different. So, this work is done in stages and in sequence. So, if you were at a a particular parcel, essentially a crew will come in, do a few weeks of work. Once that's complete, they'll move to another location and that parcel will sit idle then until the

sequential crew comes to do the next activity. Um over the course of construction, this this work is done in stages and in varied and it will not be continuous work at any particular location um for the full 18 to 20 months of the project. Next, I want to talk about the operations and maintenance of the facility once it's complete. So this project connects to our existing CIT energy center in the village of Cree where we have a natural gas peaker plant. That's where it ties into the grid and we have pre-existing operations and maintenance infrastructure and manpower there. And we will just add to that at that location for this project. Uh unlike many other developers and farms in the area, this project will have a a physical door that you can knock on with manpower there every day that are responsible for the maintenance and the operations of the project. This is not a facility that will be maintained remotely. Finally, I want to talk about weather sto. This is a newer technology in the solar world, but basically the the control computer that that monitors the project will be integrated with weather stations across the area, both pre-existing ones that you would find like at an airport, but also ones that we build as part of the project.

In the event of a significant weather event like wind or hail, um our panels, which already rotate the file of the sun, can be then automatically rotated during that weather event to deflect the impact of that. This is something that uh insurance basically requires going forward for new solar farms because it greatly reduces the impact of any weather on the project. That's all I have and thank you for your time today. Hi, good morning members of the board and all those today. Uh my name is Chris Wilson, a professional professional landscape architect with Kimley Horn, uh which is the engineering and environmental consultant for Earthrise Energy. Um Kimley Horn is a large international engineering firm of over 10,000 uh people and a leading firm in environmental engineering and landscape architecture for solar development. Um I myself have over have experience with various stage various stages of over 300 solar projects across the US. Um the majority of which are in Illinois and actually over 20 of them here in Will County. Um as part of our commitment to landscape stewardship and implementing local and locally environmentally beneficial plantings. Um this project can will continue to work with the will south soil and water conservation district uh to evaluate identify uh existing conditions related to soil erosion uh and hydrarology issues. Um we'll work with them to continue with best practices to address these existing conditions and management practices to ensure that no new flooding or soil erosion occurs as part of these projects. Uh we will also be engaging with the local forest preserve um throughout this process along with the SWCD to get their review and input on planting species for both ground cover and screening vegetation. Uh speaking of screening, this project is committed to

providing enhanced vegetative screening along uh adjacent and near residential homes in the form of evergreen trees. Um and uh for for year- round visual buffer and large social shrubs for seasonal interest, color, variance, forms, texture, and faster growth for buffer uh ground cover implementation is a critical component to this project. So in addition to working with the local SWCD, uh native naturalized seating will be applied prior to any construction of this project which will allow the ground cover to establish and start providing the ecological benefits to the soil and water which is things like reduced compaction, reducing erosion, slowing surface water, increasing water infiltration and actually improving water quality in these areas. Um, this prairie and meadow establishment will provide habitat for pollinators, ground nesting song birds, and small mammals throughout the entire county's area. Um, and as

seconds. Thank you. As an environmentally conscious landscape architect, I've been delighted to work with Earthrise because they demonstrate true dedication to providing positive environmental impact with their work and are committed to implementing and maintaining the landscape correctly. Thank you.

Hi, good morning madame executive, members of the county board, land use staff, and everyone gathered here today. My name is Will Fischer. I serve as vice president of development with Earthrise Energy. I grew up with a 708 area code and have worked for over a decade developing solar power plants across the country. As you've heard tonight or today, Earthrise owns and operates five natural gas fired power plants across the state that provide critical reliability for the electric grid, spinning up during periods of high demand such as hot summer afternoons and cold winter mornings. During the three most recent severe winter storms in this area, our gas plant in CIT was available and was called on to run during two of them. And if if you're keeping track of the names of these storms, they were called Jerry and Dennis. U we helped keep the lights on during these extraordinary cold spells and are prepared to do the same this summer. Earthrise captures this unused capacity at these gas plants when they're idle, pioneering an innovative business model to bring new generation online quickly. At the end of 2024, Earthrise started construction on the 270 megawatt Gibson City Solar Energy Center that you've heard about today in Ford and MLAN counties. It was energized last month and is now producing power. Gibson City was built with union labor and the support of key community stakeholders who've been vocal at the hearings for Plum Valley and Pride of the Prairie over the last couple months. Following months of diligence and scrutiny last year, we closed financing for Gibson City last May. If you've been through the process of financing a mortgage, you know how difficult and hard this can be. Gibson City proved the viability of this innovative business model. Over in Cumberland and Kohl's counties, we recently broke ground on the 360 megawatt Shelby Solar Energy Center,

which is expected to reach operations across in two phases in 2027 and 2028. Due to Illinois state law restrictions, our gas plants operate only about 100 hours per year and otherwise sit idle. Couldn't we do something with that unused grid infrastructure to help meet the unprecedented growth and power demand we see today? Yes, we can. Surplus capacity has long been touted as this cool idea uh to bring new generation to the grid quickly, but Earthrise is the first to prove this model and bring real benefits to communities and rateayers in the process. We appreciate your time and your consideration of our Plum Valley application. Thank you,

Madam Executive, members of the Will County Board. Thank you for reviewing our application. I'm proud to uh represent Earthrise today. My name is Rob Kalbus. I'm director of development. I lead project development in Will County. I've enjoyed getting to know a lot of you. For those of you who don't know me, uh I'll tell you a little bit about myself before I make some remarks. Um I'm a petroleum geologist by training. I spent um I started my 17-year career in the oil field before coming over to renewable energy about 10 years ago. Um what I learned in the process was that we need a diverse energy system to meet demand and that's why I came to Earthrise. Uh I was intrigued by the uh dual conventional energy and renewable energy combination that uh Will Fischer just uh got done explaining. So I want to I want to tell you a little bit about um why I think you should approve this project. Uh according according to a recent analysis of consumer financial data right now one in four Will County residents 25% of your neighbors has debt and collections. Many of those overdue bills are for utilities. Last year, Illinois families saw their power bills jump 16%. The average Illinois household is now spending over 210 more dollars per year on electricity than they did just a year ago. Plum Valley Solar will directly help ease that burden. We'll generate clean local power equivalent to what over 50,000 average Illinois homes consume in a year. And working in concert with our peaking plant, we can put underutilized grid infrastructure to work for the benefit of the public. More power, better use of the grid. When opportunities like this come along, we can't afford to turn our backs on them. We all know new new sources of demand are coming to the grid, including right here in Joliet.

New sources of demand like electric arc furnaces, chip factories, and AR. AI are part of the new economic ecosystem that will allow America to continue to prosper and project power globally in the 21st century. There's no way around it. We are going to need a lot of electricity to stay competitive. Not to mention all those cat videos we can't seem to get enough of. And I even heard today that the pastors are using AI. Uh approving this special use permit isn't just about renewable energy. It's about giving real tangible relief to thousands of our neighbors who are struggling to keep the lights on. 30 seconds.

I respectfully ask you to approve this special use permit. Let's work together to do something about electricity prices in Will County. Thank you very much. Uh good morning uh board members. Ben Jacobe. I am the attorney for the Sparrow Property Management LLC, which is the Plum Valley Project Company. Um, I'm also the attorney for Lincoln Solar Energy LLC, which is the applicant for the Pride of the Prairie Project. It's not my first time in front of this board. It's a privilege to be back. Thank you very much. Um, looks like I'm last or almost last, so everybody wants to hear from the lawyer last. Um, I'll keep this quick. First, I want to address the elephant in the room very quickly on uh the honorable honorable judge Brereslin's ruling yesterday that requires the county board to remand the pride of the prairie project uh back to the PCC to allow um some cross-examination and presentation of evidence. Um we tried to save everybody some time uh by uh making that offer and completing that process uh back in March 30th and 31st, but um you know, we're here now with the court's order. We're happy to complete that process as instructed by the judge and hopefully we can settle that process and we look forward to bringing this project back to you on May 21st. So, I just wanted to quickly um knock that out of the way with respect to Pride of the Prairie. Switching gears to Plum Valley, which is before you tonight or this morning. Uh we're excited for your vote on this project. The project received positive feedback from the community as you've heard. In fact, more people testified in support of this project than against it at the PZC hearing. Uh we were proud to receive recommendations for approval from both the PZC and the land use and development committee. Um a large part of this project is annexed into uh and the village will experience significant benefits from the project and we're proud to be partnering with the village on this project as well. Uh now as you know the there's a recent case equity

everybody knows about it. Um and that has suggested that the county long no longer can consider the LA factors and that would include this project. Um, but this project was developed and the application was filed long before Equity Solar was decided. And this application, you'll see, responds in narrative form to each and every Lasal factor um, and other requirements from your ordinance and demonstrates compliance with each. In fact, there's a checklist in the application that sets forth line by line how this project has complied with each and every factor of your ordinance. Um, and it also addresses each and every of the list factors. that that checklist is to help make sure that we've completed uh uh an application that satisfies your ordinance and it also helps you check our homework. Staff agreed that the application was complete and this is all to say that the Plum Valley project was designed to honor

seconds. Thank you. Was honored uh to was designed to honor the county's way of doing business pre-equity solar. We're proud of that and we hope you agree and we hope that you vote uh to approve the project on its merits. Um, I wanted to address a couple of the conditions in the application packet uh that we would ask for some amendments to. The first is condition three uh which reads on-site power lines and utility connections will be allowed above ground if required to avoid existing obstacles such as pipelines or wetlands areas. We're asking We're asking that you that this include provided however that the project is available to utilize the cab above ground cabling system between the panels as described by the applicant.

Good morning board members. My name is John. I'm about a 24 year um resident of Will County living in uh Frankfurt, Illinois. And I come here to register my remarks in support of these projects. As a 477year member of local 150, professionally occupied as a crane operator, I've sat and looked out many windows. Some of you may remember Y2K in 2000. Anybody old enough to remember that the world was going to stop, right? I got a call from my boss said, "Haha, I said, I'll bet you call to wish me happy new year." He said, "Ha, yeah, happy new year. You want to work tonight?" I was employed that night on Y2K when the world was going to stop at Midwest Generating right by Siko. That plant right now is closed. That was a coal fire generating station as well as many other coal fire plants in Illinois and around the United States. Last year I traveled to Germany and all those coal fire plants are closed. But our demand for electricity continues to grow. So it has to come from somewhere. And this to me seems to be a reasonable clean alternative energy source. Speaking to land owners here, as I'm a land owner myself, my wife and I, we want to respect other neighbors as well. And I've listened to some of these principles here from the developers and their landscape architects, their best use. Uh this gentleman here that spoke, I was intrigued. He came from the petroleum industry. Okay. But he's transferred into alternative

energy. So I have to respect that they're get they're they're uh using best practices in planning. Last year, I was employed at a windmill, uh, a wind farm, and I got to see firsthand how those developers came in and developed the infrastructure and respected the property owners, both those that participated in those projects and those that chose not to. I thank you for your time and I express my interest and I wish that you would support these these union members here that we have here in the crowd that live and spend and support the local communities with their their health care dollars and their dollars when they go out to the pizza place with their families. And these are good, clean union jobs. Thank you for your time. Good morning. My name is Jim Walsh. I'm supervisor with Manhattan Township. And the reason that I came up here this morning to talk, I know Lincoln Energy isn't on the schedule, but what I'm would like to talk to you about is it feels to me and I've talked to a couple of you county board members and we have you all together. We need to get together with the townships, the cities, and with other counties around us, and we need to talk to our state. The thing you, as you can see here, there's not that many people. Not everybody's against solar. We're not against solar in Manhattan. It's the amount, the volume, and where they want to put it. When we talk about real estate, location, location, location. And that's what I think is happening with this. This stuff is getting put. It's not people don't get uh get to

defend themselves. Uh they're not the farmers. Also, it feels like 65 to 70% of the land that's sold in Manhattan or is going to be used for solar is not actual farmers, you know. So, I it doesn't feel like we're we're not trying to hurt the farmer. We are totally with them. I am with union labor. But what we need to do is talk to our state legislators. We need to get together, put this on on a hold somehow, slow this down so that my brother in California said California lets them have all the all the solar they want, but they make them put it where they want. They won't let them put it on good, productive land. So what we need to do is get together and come up with some kind of plan for at least Will County that we can put this where it's not affecting so many people. It's it's not against solar. It's just it needs to be put in the right locations and the townships and the county and the state need to do more talking and not let the state give us all these rules. It's not right. Thank you. Good morning. My name is Christine Duran and I have the privilege of living in Manhattan and am I am a small farm owner myself. I just want to start by saying what matters most to me in all of this. I support farmers and I respect their right to decide what happens to their land. Farming isn't just a business. It's personal. It's generational. It's identity. And for me, I do not believe it's anyone's place to tell a farmer what they should or should not be doing with something that carries that much meaning. Some farmers will look at solar and say it's not for them. Others will see it as a way to stay afloat, create stability, or keep land in their family. And others may choose to even lease or sell if that's what makes sense for

their future. I respect all of those decisions because at the end of the day, it's their land, their livelihood, and their legacy. I have seen a massive amount of social media against solar, but I don't think we are taking a step back and realizing that we are telling farmers what they shouldn't do when we are always fighting so hard for farmers to have rights over their land. There's a lot of noise in our community about stopping solar, but I don't hear that same energy when a farmer is facing losing their land. when there's no next generation stepping in or when the numbers just don't work anymore. Where is the support when they are truly between a rock and a hard place? I'm not speaking about this in theory. I've had these conversations directly with farmers. I've heard from families whose land has been in their name for generations, but the next generation isn't interested in continuing the farm. For them, leasing becomes a bridge, a way to hold on to that land long enough for the possibility that someone might come back to it one day. I've also talked with farmers who simply aren't making enough to justify the amount of work they're putting in every single day. That's the reality. I've heard so much negativity when these conversations first started that I have to admit I was skeptical, too. So, I didn't wait. I did my research. I looked into what are the panels made out of, what are the foundations made of, the impact on the soil, what happens if there's compaction. I asked questions about what happens during unpredictable storms. What if earth rise goes belly up? What happens to the materials sitting on the farmer's lands? I even asked about sheep grazing, beekeeping, and whether or not the land could still be used agriculturally. My research was thorough. My questions were tough and I got answers to everything I asked. To me, this means it isn't about taking land out of agriculture. It's about giving farmers more ways to keep it working for them.

30 seconds. I do support what Earthrise is offering because it gives people another option. And from the conversations I've had, options are exactly what a lot of farmers need right now. These decisions aren't simple. They're personal. They're about family, finances, and everything tied to that land. And I just believe those decisions should stay with the people who live it every day. I'll continue to stand behind farmers and their right to choose what's right for them. Thank you for your time. Last call here. Any public comment? Last call. Okay. Thank you very much. Appreciate everyone being here and speaking. We're going to move on to old business. All resolutions and ordinance for the March 19th, 2026 board meeting have been signed and returned. Um, we are going into I'm going to let the assistant states attorney provide some background um regarding these next four items before I ask for a motion in a second. I will say too before we begin, I'm going to let the speaker uh make a a quick statement, but again, there's no discussion with this since it is a court order. So we find you here, sir. Hold on. Just give me.

All right, you're on. I'm pressing the button. You're supposed to be on. Can you say it? Try again. Yep. Sorry. These are the things we had to All right. Go ahead, Mr. Red. Try it again. No, I think Try M try uh member Williams there. They'll if that works, hit it. Yeah. Good morning, Madame Executive.

Uh staff, county board members, and all the residents that are here this morning. Um the statement that I have prepared is nothing new. We we've heard plenty of comments, but I do want to put this onto the record. The state of Illinois has stripped the Will County Board of its authority to regulate where solar energy facilities best fit in our community. Last week, the Will County Circuit Court ordered the county board to approve six solar projects that previously had voted to deny, confirming that our hands are completely tied. The Will County States Attorney's Office has has advised county board members they could face contempt charges punishable by fines or jail time individually if they defy the court order and vote no when the projects are reconsidered at today's April 16th county board meeting. Voting no could also result in significant fines or sanctions against the county that would be passed on to all the taxpayers. The Will County Board respects the court and the rule of the law. However, recent developments have placed our members in a terrible bind in which they have ordered to cast votes they sincerely believe are against the best interests of our community. We must continue to fight to restore local authority to regulate solar facilities and allow allow our county board members to vote in good faith. Thank you so much. Thank you. All right. Um, we're going to have our assistant states attorney make a quick comment. Thank you, Ron, sir.

So, we've talked about this a lot over the last couple weeks talked about this a lot over the last couple weeks. Um, obviously, we've now seen both what the third district in a unanimous decision has determined. Um, and essentially they have very strictly read the law to limit your uh, discretion on these cases. Um, I understand how everyone may feel about that. Um, and we did look at Equity Solar. After Equity Solar came out again, a local judge then applied that to the cases before you and said this is a direct uh, onetoone scenario essentially. So, uh, while I understand the the information that's brought out and the concerns, obviously, this is the situation you've been put in. Um, the judge found that they've met the criteria. Um, and that he's issued a mandamus, which is a direction to the elected officials to act in accordance with his order. Um, so with that, um, I think we've talked about this quite a bit, and that's the state of where we're at.

All right. At this time, we're going to be we're on under no old business number two. I need a motion to approve ordinance 26099 uh zoning case 24-011. Motion by Van Dy, seconded by Traneer. Madame clerk, please call the role. Richmond, Williams, Dean, Schlottman, Ogala, Pretzel, Butler, Bich, Oxley, Brooks.

Yes. Bulock. Yes. Logan Freeman Revis Mitchell Burkowitz. Oh, sorry. Ortiz. Hickeyi Costa. Traineer. Van, yes. Oxley can't say present. He has to make a yes or no or an abstension. Oxley.

Yes or no? Hold on.

So, sorry. No, it's off. try to implement. So the law requires either a yes, no, or an abstension. Okay. So it's an abstension then.

Because he has a financial interest. Okay. So it's a no. Yeah. Thank you. With 16 um in the affirmative, the motion carries. We'll move on to ordinance number number three. Ordinance number 26- 100/ zoning case 24-041. Can I get a motion? Motion by Van Dy, seconded by Costa. Is there previous roll call

by Trinire? Seconded by Rebes. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. Moving on to number four. Ordinance number 26-101, zoning case 24117. Can I get a motion to motion by Freeman, seconded by Hickeyi, previous roll call by H uh Kosa, seconded by Trira. All in favor? And opposed? Motion carries. Number five. Item number five, ordinance 26-102, zoning case 24126. Can I get a motion? Motion by Trir, seconded by Costa, previous roll call Bullock, seconded by Hickeyi. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. Number six, ordinance 26-103, zoning case 25-041. I need a motion. Motion by TR, seconded by Freeman. Previous roll call by Costa, seconded by Bullock. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. And number seven, ordinance 26-105, zoning case 25-043. And motion by Traneer, seconded by Kosa. Is there previous? Previous by Revvis, seconded by Hickey. All in favor? Any opposed? The motion carries. Thank you. We're going to move on to new business. Chair Pretzel, land use committee or land use and development committee. You want to do a test there, sir? There you go.

Thank you, Madam Executive. Hold on. Maybe have to turn mine off. Want to try again? You were on. There you go. Thank you, Madam Executive. First up on today's agenda, resolution 26-106, historical landmark, Joseph Perry House in Creek Township, 365 West Exchange Street, Creek, Illinois. Land use and development voted to approve 5 to zero. And I so moved. Motion by Pretzel. Motion by Pretzel, seconded by Burkowitz. Any discussion? Madame clerk, please call the roll. Richmond Williams Slottman Ogala Pretzel yes butler

Oxley yes Brooks yes Bulock yes Logan yes Freeman Revis Mitchell Ortiz yes Burkowitz Hickey yes Costa R yes van yes 20 with 20 in the affirmative. The motion carries.

Next on today's agenda, resolution 26-107. This is SCXT26-010 for a third extension for zoning case ZC22050. Special use permit for rural events with seven conditions. Banks and Land Management LLC and Green Garden Township Land Use and Development voted to approve this five to zero and I so move. Second.

Motion by Pretzel, seconded by Revvis. Any discussion? Previous roll call by Burkowitz, second by Oxley. All in favor? Any opposed? The motion carries. Number three, OD26-108 for zoning case 25139, Sparrow Management LLC. Special use permit for a commercial solar energy facility in Mon Creek, Washington, and Will Townships. Multiple properties roughly located in the area south of Old Mooney Road, west of CSX Railroad, east of South Kirsten Road, and north of West Church Road, County Board District 2 and three. Uh the applicant has requested well and and I so move. Let me just put this out there.

Motion by Pretzel, seconded by Costa. Discussion. Before we move on, the applicant has requested that we make three amendments to this application. The first one is uh condition number three. On-site power lines and utility connections will be allowed above ground if required to avoid existing obstacles such as pipelines or wetland areas. Provided, however, that the project is approved to utilize the cab above ground cabling system between panels as directed by the applicant at the hearing. And I so move.

Okay. Motion by pretzel, seconded by Freeman. Discussion. Discussion. Member member O'Gali, you should be. Can you tap it? See if you're on. You're on. Thank you. I just wanted to ask our land use department to come up and answer a question regarding this. Land, we need you to come up, please.

So, this has been before us for a while. We hadn't heard about this condition change. I want to know um your opinion on this because we have changed to bearing all all these uh posts because here's the thing this is talking like 2200 acres out in the middle of farmland destroys the rural community destroys the landscape. So we have always requested that everything be buried so that we can prevent at least the eyesore of of all the poles. If you know when you're driving in the country, you just see lots of flat land, farming stuff and stuff like that. You don't want to see poles. And before we ask KMED that did we could we make them bury them all? We didn't know we had them. So when you're driving the old solar facilities that were approved years ago, their posts are everywhere. So now they're asking for this. So just looking for some clarification as to why they're asking for it at this late date today when we're voting on it. after they would send back the land.

So Margaret Kenny will county lane use department regarding the above ground um electrical lines. The applicant is crossing pipelines, wetlands, flood planes in areas that have more sensitive um ground conditions and has asked the request to be allowed to go above ground rather than disturb those soils. Um, in doing so, we would have to condition it at this point in within the special use to allow them to do so. Otherwise, they would have to bury everything. Um, so their condition is really just clarifying what that is and the amendment with that condition.

And we don't know how much they're asking for. We don't have any particulars. So, I would like to make a motion to remand this back to PCC so this can be thoroughly vetted as well as to land use department. Second. because they could just put everything above ground. Go ahead. So, there is a motion on the floor. Uh yeah, in a second. So, um either that needs to be withdrawn or voted on one way or another before we can remand it.

So, withdraw Frankie. Withdraw. Withdraw your motion. There's a motion on the table to allow them to send it back. So go back. We can't make this change today. Make a motion. Just make a little back. This is what the asking for today. have to do a poll or somewhat well. All right. So I Yes. Yeah. I don't know if we can. He He's not withdrawing his motion. We're moving forward. So

withdraw. No, he he hasn't decided yet. He He gets to decide if he's going to withdraw the motion. He wasn't sure. All right. So now we

Okay. So what are we talking? There's no motion on the two without Um, one second. You're coming back. I'm coming back to you for your motion. I want clarifying question. Okay. Are we able to remand it back? Okay. That's what I'm not. Okay. Member O'Gather. Yes. So, I'm making a motion to remand this back to PCC and land use committee so that we can thoroughly understand that before today. Um, this is last minute. I need to have better understanding as to what extent they're asking to do this, how much property, and all the other details.

Right. So, there's a motion to remand back. That's a proper one. Remand back to committee to PCC. To BC PCC, we go ahead and you're up. Sorry. So, this can be remanded, but want to advise you that the 30-day clock is still running. Uh, Earthrise may move to uh move a certain way on this. The public hearings have ended. Um, I don't know if we're remanding it for further public hearings, for further discussions. Currently, the 30-day clock is running.

This is a last minute change by them. They have an entire team. We heard from their entire team here today. So today suddenly they come up with this change. I don't think it's right for us to vote on it. Not only that, as you remember this simple fact, it got rushed through the land use department to come to PCC when our board is basically on vacation because it's like Easter break. I was the only one who sat for the two days of the public hearing and then member Butler sat there was able to come one day of public hearing. So everybody is voting on this having not heard anything from the public hearing unless they spent uh seven hours listening to the two nights of public hearing. Everybody was also not at the land use department. So I think we should send it back for further discussion. This is an error on their half. That's not an error on us. How did they not think about this? This has been in the works since I don't know October or so last year when then we came to uh the land use department and they finally put put it through in March was I think the eth and then bam we're hearing for both these we're hearing ask these these projects at PCC I think it's the right thing to do

it's not this isn't right you want me to get you member Oxley Hold on give me a second here these They're all unmuted. So, okay. Go ahead, Mr. Are you on? There you go. Thank you. This was presented from my understanding part of the special use. One of the requirements was special use and and was voted on for underground wires. So, that changes the whole scope of this project by changing it at the last minute today. Thank you. Member Burkowitz.

Is it on? No, I don't. Katie is it's Katie

maybe now. Okay. Um All right. Um so two things. um March 11th um submitted in uh in the project documentation from Will South Cook Soil and Water. Um they specifically address these areas of concern regarding the Black Walnut Creek and the Plum Creek and the concerns uh that the staff received a report without addressing these issues. uh that was dated as late as March 17. Um so it's my concern that this was not addressed in an earlier fashion. For that reason, I believe that we need to have that full reporting and we we need to make sure that the uh water and soil conservation district has the ability to make sure that this plan is submitted and it addresses those concerns. And Kevin, um, and that's the reason why we we need to send this back. Can you please explain to us why there is a 30-day uh time limit and what that is?

Sure. So, the 30 days comes from state statute. Um this is part of all the comprehensive solar reforms that has happened. Um obviously started out with an initial bill um and public act. It has continuously been amended to uh change how the county is to move on this. it will amen be amended again or effective again Jan June 1st with uh further restrictions on the county. The 30 days is it's just a portion of the statute that says at the 30 days after the public hearing or within 30 days after public hearing ends the county board has to make a decision.

So I would just like to note that this is all based on state statute. However, we have a uh application here that is incomplete and needs needs to be revised and yet we are restricted under that 30-day time limit in state statute. Another reason why this legislation is so flawed. So again, our request to send this back still stands. Member Pretzel,

I think it's easy to see what's happening here. The applicant is emboldened by the recent court rulings and they're now saying we're not going to do what we originally agreed to do, which would make this a little bit more palatable for the people that live in the community. So, I think they are trying to uh move the goalpost a little bit here at the last minute and I think we should send it back to committee. Member Triner. Do you want to try member? You want to try member Freeman? Well, I don't know.

No, there it is. Thank you, Madam Executive. I see no need to send this back to committee. We have three areas that we can discuss under the law. That's the setbacks, the mowing, and the type of plantings. I don't believe that we get to, and the state's attorney can correct me if I'm wrong, uh decide about where the wiring goes and where the poles go.

Go ahead. So, I'm doing the best I can. Can't wait to get back to the county building. Me either. All right.

Okay, there we go. So, there is there is some things that you can do and I just want to say the other the other thing that we can do here if there was concerns about changing it at the 11th hour. Um, and we have talked to land use about these this week at this point just to make sure they were commercially reasonable and uh things that could be done. But there other things could be done is you could just deny the condition changes the conditions and approve it as was presented to PZC. um that that those things were fully brought to you before um the public hearing um and those have been vetted if you want to bring it forward as presented to the PCC and the land use development committee that that is your case that is your safest option.

I still hold on hold on

I don't know. Yeah, there we go. I still want to ask the land use department um does this change in any way make the project detrimental to the will to the county? I mean is this some kind of thing that's going to make the project negative and not work anymore? So again, Margaret Kenny will county land use department. I think to first clarify what we are talking about, um the above ground wiring is really to cross any wetlands or pipelines where you can't go underground. Um pipelines usually have things built into their easement. You cannot disturb the ground if the pipelines are shallow. Um same thing wetlands. You don't want to disturb a wetland by digging in them. Um, so the safest way to protect them is to go above ground and that's what we are talking about the above ground cabling, the wiring, the poles. It's not within the site themselves. There are places where they will be going underground um where they can be.

Thank you. And then one more question. Was their application in any way incomplete? No. Thank you. Thank you very much. I will be voting no on remanding this back to committee. Me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me member Revis.

Uh thank thank you, Madam Executive. Uh I just from listening to the residents, I know we don't have all the opposition uh for um these solar projects here today, but we did have a a strong number of individuals that came out. From what I hear from them, one of their main concerns is the impact to the soil and the surrounding wetlands and the farms and the drainage and all of this. So, for me, I don't think this makes sense to remand it back to committee and it might even um uh leave the door open for a worse outcome for the residents who are opposed to these projects and concerned about the soil health. So, we're we got our hands tied. We've already established this. I think we need to do the business in front of us today. I will not be voting to send this back to committee. Thank you,

Speaker Van.

I don't know. Thank you, man executive. like um w with with the state's attorney's opinion with the time constraint I I don't believe it would be wise to send it back to committee um I would just try to uh make a make a motion to make that amendment and if it fails then we continue on as the the the project was permitted. Thank you. Right. Yeah. And member Galla we're gonna let you talk. Anyone else before I go back to member Ogala? Okay, memoran I There you go.

Thank you. So, this is a change in the scope of the project as it was presented to us to approve this special use permit. Our staff has had documentation from uh Earthrise since last fall. um if they have done their job and looked at everything and um looked at the properties that are impacted by this, I don't understand why we wouldn't have had this added as a condition from our land use department. They should know that there's wetlands out there because there are I don't know how many parcels are in this particular one. Um but they should know that there were wetlands. They should know there are pipelines. Pipelines are really easy to see out there. So, this should have been a condition that was added by land use. So, somebody isn't doing their job here. Either a land use department because they were overwhelmed with 9,000 acres of solar to look at in a short time period or the company neglected it. They should have asked for this beforehand. I I took a tour of their Gibson City facility. I know what they said down there. So they overlooked this as something because they're so greedy to make the deadlines. They overlooked this this type of condition when they submitted it because they rushed it through for the second.

Thank you. Um Marcy Brian um with the the in the report it indicates that there is a damage tile um and it's even lists the pin. Has that been addressed?

Hold on. Sorry. Y to answer that question. Um I do not know at this time um they should be repairing it um per the AIM agreement that they submitted. Well I realize they should be. My question is is that in the work plan and has that been addressed? They have yet to submit a building permit to our office with the drain tile maps that is required as part of the permitting process. Um so to answer your question, I do not know. And when would you expect to get that drain tile report? When they submit for their building permit.

Okay. Thank you.

Member Costa. If I understand this correctly, um I'm reviewing the notes from a month ago during the March 18th uh public hearing meeting and the statement of facts as follows on the second page states that installation of above ground riser poles for medium voltage alternating current electrical collection lines to avoid certain obstacles such as gas pipelines and wetland areas. Staff have added a condition to permit this. So there was discussion about this a month ago. What I'm understanding is that and and we heard from the u the Gibson resident speakers uh that Earthrise has been listening and has been cooperative about you know avoiding the the underground tiles trying to find other you know opportunities to make this work. Um I believe that the conversations had been had and it is documented in record and uh this should not be remanded back. That's different.

Member Traneer.

Uh, yes. What is the exact uh 30-day deadline that we're looking at? I I think land use has calculated that what the 30 days is from the last public hearing. April 10th or I mean April 20th, April 30th. I believe the 30th day would be tomorrow.

Okay. So there's no way we're going to have a committee meeting and then another full board meeting before tomorrow because legally we can't do that. Um this would be financially very irresponsible for us to postpone this vote. Um they could take us to court. we could lose all opportunities to have any input whatsoever on how this project is done. We need to move forward. We've had time to ask our questions. They've made one one condition additional to be added that was discussed at the various committee meetings. We need to move forward. Roxy, do you have another question?

Call a vote. All right. Well, we'll have to we'll have to You spoke already, so you don't get to do that. Um, member of Butler and then Pretzel. Sorry, these the names are there, the buttons are there, they're just not matching up. So, that's fine. I think they were trying to get your attention. Yeah. So, I just want to be clear. Um, member Traneer said that there's only one condition change here. There the applicant has requested three amendments to three different conditions. I'm I was going to go through them one at a time, but we got distracted. So, just want to

clarify that. And we are gonna address them all I think at some point. All right. All right. I am also being member rev. No, I I'm just we are going to after this we are being informed that we do have to um allow the Earthrise attorney to raise an objection. Raise an objection. Yeah. Thank you. So, okay. Member Ravis,

I I um I just want to ask land use or whoever maybe the state's attorney's office, if we do remand this back to committee today with the 30-day deadline being tomorrow, does that mean these conditions are these are these conditions are things that Earthrise does not have to do? Correct. So, as I've told you guys many times, uh the board, obviously what we're involved in is risk management, and that is a risk that a judge could order with no conditions, just the special use permit. Uh

meaning that they could go underground and impact these wetlands, the drainage, the soil that many of the opposition side is concerned about. Well, you could also open up a bigger issue of where the pipeline companies are now interjecting themselves and saying, "Look, you have no right to run that cabling." Um, and then we're discussing a number of parties litigating against each other to see what the law allows. Um, yeah. Yeah. So, I would just say, guys, our hands are tied. The state's attorney has outlined this clearly. The state law is clear. The courts have decided. Remanding this back to committee just delays the inevitable. and uh it sucks but we just got to vote on this today. Thank you.

You want to hear from whatever I let should I let them speak before because there's going to be a ton of questions. Let them speak. Member Mitchell.

Okay. First of all, what I didn't know we had so many lawyers on on deck here. It's amazing. That's one. Two, what are we doing? this is not a public hearing. I remember uh I remember speak you know clearly that we can't have another public hearing at our meeting. So I don't understand where this attorney has the um obligation or has the authority to oppose an objection during our meeting. I think that's highly irregular. I've never heard I've never heard us or understood us to ever have done that. I understand that he wants to say something in response to what's happening, but he but their company is the one that came to us asking for these three amendments to what they decided already. They claimed they were thoroughly prepared when we had our land use meeting that was also irregular. They told us they were thoroughly prepared to go forward and we have to accept things the way they were presented. Well, now you're coming to us telling us that, oh, it's not here. Now, look, I am not I'm like with every I'm like everybody else. I'm not anti I'm not anti- solar. Solar is fine. But I think these proceedings are are very irregular, very unorthodox. I'm very uncomfortable at this time. We shouldn't be doing things that we don't normally do. Right now, there is a uh uh there's a question on the table. We should just be voting on that and moving on to whatever the next thing is. It's on there's a motion on the table. We should be voting on that motion. And I'm asking that we call question dog on it. Sorry. I'm sorry. Yeah, I didn't. Never mind. Member Bulock and then Williams and then um Bot.

Call the question, please. There's a motion to call the question. Is there a second? Second. We have to take a roll call vote on calling the question. Madame clerk, please call the role. Dean Schlapman, Ogala, Pretzel, Butler, Bich, Oxley, Brooks, yes. Bulock, Logan, Freeman, Revis, no Mitchell. Ortiz, yes. Burkowitz, Hickey, yes.

Costa R. Thank you. 20. The motion to call the question has passed. So, we are moving on. We have a motion to remand back to committed by member Ogala. I don't remember who seconded that, but um or ordinance 26-108 uh to remand back to committee. This is a vote to remand back to committee. Madame clerk, please call the role. Richmond Williams, no. Dean Schlottman,

yes. Ogala Pretzel Butler Newquiz I'm sorry um Oxley Brooks no Bulock Logan yes Freeman Revis Mitchell Ortiz Burkowitz Hickey yes Costa did you say yes

no No trainer man died 20 times. and hold.

Yeah. All right. Uh no. Uh with 11 in the negative, the motion will not be or the motion fails. Member Pretzel. Executive. Uh so I I do want to repeat my amendment then. I'm going to make a motion to amend condition number three. On-site power lines and utility connections will be allowed above ground if required to avoid existing obstacles such as pipelines or wetland areas, provided, however, that the project is approved to utilize the CAB above ground cabling system between panels as described by the applicant at hearing. And I so moved.

Motion by Pretel, seconded by Tremir. Discussion. Member Ogala. Thank you. So, I just need clarification. So, if we were to say no to this condition, it's it appears from what they what member Prezel read, they're only doing it if it's approved. Is that what you read there? That's correct.

So, if they're only going to do that if it's approved, but it's something that they should do. Why wouldn't they do it? I don't understand that at all. And we and and I will clearly say again we sat in seven hours at PCC I don't remember four or five hours at land use that's that's just in meetings that's not all the time that our staff has worked on this outside of it that's not all the different conversations that have occurred outside of of that so I don't understand why suddenly this is getting added to it and also So I would like to know do we have any idea of how much land they're looking at that this would have uh post above ground cabling above ground that we may not have known or even discussed prior. Do you guys know that answer

your face?

All right. Brian Rander from land use department. uh the staff does not have an exact number on the amount of ground area that would be subject to where the you know like what the total area is. The site plan did show all of these uh locations though when it was presented to the planning commission and to the land use and development committee. So they're all shown on the site plan where they would be above ground. You know, there's part of this um that I believe hasn't really been talked about, and that's the the cab wiring between panels, which is um something that board member Pretzel uh raised. And the cab wiring runs typically around along the backside of the panels, and sometimes it goes underground in between rows of panels, sometimes it goes above ground. So that would just just picture the solar panel having a row of panels and then having it running to the next panel. Some of our people or some of our developers have put them underground and some of them have put them up above ground. Um I think the biggest concern when you talk about the between rows is is the fire district okay with that? So, if you're going to if that comm condition is going to be added uh and you're looking at amending it, I would make sure that the fire district is okay with the rows in between rows.

Are they here today? Do we have anyone from the fire district here today? Which one? So, they're not here today. So,

this is not a public hearing as you know, so we wouldn't go back and forth. it. They aren't here today obviously because they did not speak at all. So, they are not here today. But here's the thing again. You're asking us to consider things that we've not had the time to find that information out. So, what does the fire department think? I don't know. If this was in the site plan, then is it typical for us to um not go underground for everything that has pipelines and wetlands? I don't know. I know I live in the country. I've got a pipeline that goes through my my farm and I know that in the easement that there are all kinds of lines, telephone lines, um high-speed internet lines that go above the ground in the easement. So, I'm I'm just curious here. I I mean I with solar projects I can't think of a particular one that went above ground over a wetland but that is not uncommon in other types of development to avoid a wetland or a creek or a pipeline because they have to go above ground for whatever the regulation is that's permitting them from going under it. Um the fire district uh you know some districts with the plans uh have been okay with the wires between rows. Um when we get a a site plan, we're not getting an electrical wiring plan for the entire site. So we don't see that until the permitting part.

Okay, that makes sense to me. So if we had another type of development that other than this um what what what would be typical for that um wouldn't we had a condition to say that if if some development occurs within the area of a pipeline or a wet line wetland that we would allow them to be above ground. I'm just curious is that something we would standard do for a standard or not? It's I mean for for our solar facilities of all the facilities that you've uh this board has approved I can't think of one that went above ground to avoid a wetland but those a lot of those sites are different right they're just I know

they're a 40 acre parcel or a 60 acre parcel and if there's a a better chance to avoid those things because most of those connections are happening closer to the road so and they end up avoiding wetlands for the most part so this is a bigger site and where the utility lines are a little run are a little bit different.

Right. And my last statement with this will be so I know that Earthrise had lots of uh prospective lease deals with a lot of different uh land owners and that they chose where they wanted to make the lease agreement stick and then they released some of the lease agreements. I don't know if they did their due diligence and saying, "Well, this property had no wetland um and no pipeline. Uh this property does." And was it a factor of what your NDA is for the lease and did you make your decision on that? I have no idea. I mean, that's the bad thing with this. We have no idea how they chose among the uh for the for the whole all their projects about 9,000 acres. Not quite. What did they look at for this? That's the hard thing. We don't know. And I do feel for our staff that has been had to rush through on all of these things to meet all the crazy deadlines that Springfield put forward as well as the Swan Water Conservation District. So, um I understand what they're asking for here and um I appreciate your input. Thank you,

Member Richmond. working. Is it working? I don't know. Yeah, you you're working.

So, I mean, we we've sat here today. Um, we've learned over the course of time that not only are we handcuffed, we're shackled and we're almost muzzled, too. Um, this is a challenge not only for Will County, but also for a lot of other jurisdictions throughout the state. I I guess we've heard from the residents, we've heard about the soil, we've heard about the farmers, we've heard from from labor. What we got to do is do everything we possibly can to protect all these groups. Um I guess my question comes down to is is they they come to us and we do we as a land use department have a well-defined parameters on how far or how close it should be when it starts to go above ground. Do we have a handle on that? Because it would seem as though if we don't have a handle on that and that that's something that we should be able to uh control based on what I've read in our uh our ability to control these things. So I think land use is talking amongst themselves right now.

You want to go do you want to talk? Yeah, while they're discussing

Yeah. No, that's fine. If this was a football game, I'd be all the way down the field with fall starts. But um so I think that sounds like at least from land use it sounds like um that's part of the site development plan. Determine where those I think those I won't speak for them sound to me like unique things we it may sometimes it may require 100 due the soil 100 foot of elevated lines sometimes it may be 10. I think that is if they can correct me that's part of the actual site development plan. I I just want to make sure that that's under our control and not under earthrise. I've heard that they've been great partners that they've, you know, they've had people come up here from all over the place telling us how great they are in that. But what I have to do is we have to protect our county and our residents to the best of our possible ability. And I want to make sure that we those parameters are well defined in our land use and that Kevin, we do have the ability to make sure that those are exercised. it I I think well defined probably based on specific conditions and I think that's part of the back and forth uh with earthrise um you know there's going to be some push back on the site development plans I think the overall arching theme is that the conditions can't be so unreasonable to basically make it impossible for them to do what the courts have ordered them to do and

it looks as though us commentators now have we can go switch back to the field and they may have an answer for us. So, thank you, Brian.

So, there is no specific standard in the code that would say um your utility pole would have to be 50 feet outside of a pipeline easement or wetland. So, there are wetland buffers depending on the quality of the buffer, but we know that the Army Corps of Engineers also allows solar panels in wetlands. There's a nationwide permit that allows that. So the question is, you know, it it seems like the board would like to see less poles and more underground. So it's kind of trying to balance, well, do you want it to meet the setback and then possibly be 60 feet outside of a wetland and more poles um or do you want it to be closer to the wetland and keep the distance shorter? So it's we don't have a specific standard that you know that we follow. I think that's something then, Brian, that we need to try and define so that this way everybody goes in with their eyes wide open understanding exactly what to expect once this project is up and running if it does get approved. So, um I just want to make sure that land use is is is on top of that. um because being brought some of these things at the last minute, it does give us a certain amount of suspect on what's the motivation or the agenda and why this occurred because this seems as though something that should have been addressed right up front. So, thank you. I know I can

member bot. You got yours. Okay. Is it on? Yeah. No. Try it again. Yep. It's here. You're right. Yeah.

Okay. We we we've been talking about stuff that we normally would do in a public hearing and we're not hearing I don't know what the answers to this stuff is. And just because they have a deadline, it seems like we're just rushing through this. Any other time that we had a problem come up, somebody would motion to send it back to committee, somebody tables it, somebody does something so we can readress it and know all the information. Right now, I don't have a clue which way to go. I don't have all the proper information, and every time somebody says something, it's a different thing. So, we shouldn't even be voting on this right now. This is ridiculous. How do you how can a county board member in good conscience now the other ones we have no choice. The other ones we had to do what the judge said period or go to jail and we don't want to do that. So guess what? This is not part of that thing. It's not part of the judge's order. So now we have to decide, are we gonna uh just willy-nilly say yes to this thing or no to this thing without knowing all the information? And to me, I can't believe this is going on. Usually, we would just table it and move it to or amend it to go back to committee. Something would happen. We wouldn't be talking about this, discussing it like it's a committee. So that's all I got to say. I'm very upset about the whole process right now. Member Burrit.

Thank you. Um, so again, this seems to happen too often where it comes to the full county board and we are we don't have answers. We have questions. People aren't here to answer those questions. somehow we've gotten through PZ and C and then through committee without these particular items being addressed. Um my recommendation what I see here is is that we need to earlier in our process make sure that when this application is filled out that all of these answers are addressed previously. the site development plan. I think it it it should include the electrical wire plan and where those things are going to be um placed whether it's underground or above ground. These are answers that are these are issues very critical issues. if we we should be working with the will South Cook soil and water conservation district when they submit a report and indicate that there are things of concern. I would like to see those things addressed prior to moving it forward to PZNC and to committee and to eventually come before full county board where we don't have the answers we need this. We need to be more proactive and then I think we can be more effective as well. I realize your application hundreds and hundreds of pages. I know I've seen it, but um yes, my question is is um and

apparently Mooney and Frankfurt did not have time to review this. So, at this point in time, how are we going to be assured that we're going to make the right decision? Mhm. Yeah. I don't know if that's a question that's more of a I don't that's something that's a personal state something that the land use cannot answer that that you've asked him a a philosophical question. So, I'm sorry. He's he's that's not his responsibility. You can ask

really think it's philosophical. Well, he's not going to be able to answer how those other two communities are going to respond. So, um, we're going to go. We have a few more who need to talk for the first time. Uh, M, uh, member B or Bulock, you're on.

Hold on. We're just going to try other ones. Try try the one next to you. There we go. I may be I'm trying to look at the attachments that we have to this and am I missing something because I'm looking at something from March 18th that has the exact thing we're talking about as one of the conditions. So, it's already in there. I'm confused as to why we're talking about it like it's new. It's it's written almost that sounds like the same words to me. So, I don't understand what we're doing.

I don't know if you have it. I would I don't know if it's it's it was Frankie's motion. So, Mr. Member Pretzel's mo motion. So, you want to be able to identify what the difference is in what you just said and what they're reading? I I'll do Okay. Do you know I think what they're asking is what did the conditions say versus what they're asking us to.

So, board member Pretzel, can you read the condition again? Condition three, on-site power lines and utility connections will be allowed above ground if required to avoid existing obstacles such as pipelines or wetland areas, provided, however, that the project is approved to utilize the CAB above ground cabling system between panels as described by the applicant at the hearing. Now, that was the added part. Correct. The last piece was the added part.

So, the cab wiring again is associated with the panels themselves. So that's it's it's lowered to the ground. It's not it's not like a utility line or a power line. So the way I understand the cab wiring is with most of our facilities, they usually run a line along the back of the solar panels like under the panels and then sometimes they put them underground, sometimes they connect row to row to row. So it's just the wiring going between the rows. I believe that's what the added request is, is that it can be above ground. the department, you know, whether or not this board has a a problem with that, I have no idea. But the department knows the feedback from the fire district, at least some of them, is that they want to have some input on that. So when we if we get to if this is approved and it goes to building permit process, we would want to know that the fire district is okay with where that cab wiring is going to go. Because if you think about it, if you put wiring all along one row and the fire district needs to be able to access, they don't want to have to go all the way around one row to come back to here because there's wiring going between panels. So I think if that condition's added that you should say with fire district approval.

All right. So there's it satisfy that member Bulock. Okay. me. Moving on to member van dyne.

Um, member Bulock had gotten to my point before that. I I believe that the condition was already set to to deal with the wetlands and and the pipelines. Um, but the added condition, I really don't have an issue with that running the cable between rows. Um, so I'll be willing to accept that condition. Thank you. Uh, second time member Richmond followup. Yeah. So, just clarification. So, it appears as though some of the wording was in prior meeting, but then did we just get a change to an amendment this morning? Is that what the timing is? No, I think Pretzel just made that amendment then. Okay. Yeah.

So, Oh. Oh, you mean the original one? Yeah, the the change to the original one just came in this morning. Yes, it's done at county board meeting. Understand? So, my my follow-up question then is is if you change something in the contract, why doesn't that restart the clock,

right? Why not? Okay. So the the timeline of all this is is it came in throughout the week. We were discussing with land use whether it was even available to be done. So you know that was the process that worked throughout with all the other solar things that have been going on all this week. The the timeline doesn't talk about the um the overall let's say call it the contract the the agreement. It talks about the end of the public hearing. Um now whether you could remand it for public hearing. I think I know what the uh the answer from Earthrise is. Um so basically you're taking on the risk that the a court would say you didn't have the ability to send it back. Your own ordinances do provide um and we've done this many times over the years uh where something comes up and you say during the county board meeting we're going to amend condition four to address this issue. So, I don't it's not a fail safe that this change would restart your 30-day clock. Um the question would be whether you have the ability to send it back for public hearing on this issue. Um but and I I there's not a definitive answer on that. Again, with the solar litigation, we are case of first impression on most things.

Yeah. And I am Am I still on? I And I guess the challenge is is that the these things are contentious issues, but also at the same token too, it's our job as elected officials to protect the residents. And like I said before, you know, not only are we handcuffed, we're shackled and and possibly uh uh muzzled, too. So, it's in our best interest as county board officials to do the best we possibly can to make sure that we're protected. And I think that's all I'm asking for is is the fact that, you know, I if if I was the businessman, I'd come in and I'd dump everything on in the last day and say, "Here, you know what? Figure it out." So that's the challenge that I have right now is the fact that if you're going to change basically some of the the the amendments and that that doesn't give us sufficient time to make an educated decision to in turn protect the best interest of our citizens. So that's that's my concern as it can be seen. Member Traneer.

Thank you. Um I would just like to maybe suggest that we add on to the amended language with the cooperation or agreement of the local fire districts and then that seems like that would give the the residents the protection that they would need. Are you making that motion? I will make that motion to add that on with the cooperation and approval of the local fire districts. Just add that to the language. She read. So we have a motion by Traneer. Second. Oh, you're seconded by pretzel. So these are just the amendments to um the amendments. Yeah. So previous.

Madame clerk. Well, I don't know what the previous role was. So mad 1010. Well, madame clerk, please call the role. They may want to. These are amendments. They may want these in their amendments. So madam clerk, please call or is there any discussion on that? Is there any discussion on the amended amendment? No. Are we voting on the amendment to the amendment? We're voting on the amendment and then what what member Traneer just added. Okay. All right. That's what we are voting on right now. Madame clerk, please call the role. Richmond, you're amending what member pretzel said. Yeah. Williams, yes. Gotman. Yeah. Ogala. Pretzel. Yes.

Butler. Oxley. Brooks. Yes. Bulock. Logan. Freeman. Yes. Revis Mitchell. Yes. Ortiz. Yes. Burkowitz. Yes. Hickeyi. Yes. Costa. Yes. Traineer. Yes. And yes.

One more step. Approve them as of. I make a motion to approve the amendment as amended. Thank you. There's a motion by Pretzel, second, second by Trier. Previous roll call by Costa, seconded by Ogala. All in favor? Any opposed? The motion carries.

Okay. I do have another uh request from the applicant for condition seven. They would like to amend it to include notwithstanding any other provision in the will county code including chapter 164 of the will county code the firelands that's part of the original language including access roads that's added shall be gravel per the request of the fire departments any such gravel fire lanes shall be considered pvious under the will county code and I so move motion by pretzel seconded by Revis. Discussion member Galla.

Thank you. So I know I made this motion to add that condition at at uh land use and then we talked about it and that we did recognize the fact that we had to make a change to something down the road for this. So my question is we agreed to that condition, now they're changing it. Can you explain what that difference makes please?

All right. So with this condition of considering gravel pvious um we talked about making a change to the storm water management ordinance and the water resource ordinance. So uh that will require uh a process of u the storm water committee talking about it. Uh there is the Will County storm water management ordinance which is for the entire all the communities in Will County. So if that's the base of considering it pvious each community then has the ability to accept that as the base for their community or they can make it more stringent for their local community. So any community in Will County could say I don't agree with that in the village of Frankfurt we're not going to do that and that's fine. Uh, so that change would be for all of Will County. So there'd have to be a text amendment to the storm water management ordinance. And then we had the water resource ordinance, which is for the unincorporated areas of Will County. So then we would have to make a change to the water resource ordinance, um, which is basically the storm water management ordinance, but it's the it's for the unincorporated areas of Will County. And we can make that more stringent than what the countywide is too. uh and in fact it is currently more stringent in a few areas than the countywide. So there'd have to be a text amendment and a hearing process uh to go through that. stormwater committee is meeting I believe next Thursday and we were going to uh bring the discussion uh topic up with the committee and let them know that we would prepare a text amendment and they could review it uh bring it to their communities and so it would have to go through that process and then eventually work its way back to the land use committee and to the county board for adoption if the board thought that was appropriate. So I believe that this condition

uh the way it's written is saying that we will consider it pvious um for this development. Uh but the changes are still going to be need to be made for the code I believe unless it's the intention that this condition is going to override the existing ordinances and say that this is fact that we don't have to make changes to those ordinances. It's not 100% clear to me and I pose that question to Kevin to get his opinion on that. Uh so I'd like to hear that.

Well, now I'm in the end zone. So, um but no, the way I read it and I think what the intention was is for this specific project, gravel road would be considered pvious. I don't believe there's a s seeking and certainly we haven't uh we wouldn't push that forward uh that the entire county code be changed. I think just with regards to this property for for all the with the water resource management when you're considering pvious services this would be considered pvious for this project. The application of that to the overall wershed uh and water resource ordinance. Uh again, I hate to keep saying the experts are at land use, but the way this is intended and the way we would read it if ever called to discuss it would be it's pvious for this project.

Okay. So, I know that the reason why I made that condition is because that's what the fire departments wanted when I took the tour of Gibson City. That was what they wanted the way it is right now. We don't allow them to do all gravel through certain certain percentage of the property can only be gravel because it's considered impervious and then they would have to do these other type of um I forget what they're called but like a a thing that they put down that's like a mat of something with grass and the fire departments were concerned that they would slip and slide so they wanted us to do this for the fire lane. So, thank you. And as long as that's the way it is interpreted, then I can support it. If it were to be enforced in a certain way, this is how we would enforce to deal with those conditions,

right? And our intent was to make sure we did make those changes and they're just saying that they want it eyes dotted and te's crossed. Okay. Thank you. So, board member Ogal, it seems 100% clear that for this project, they would be allowed to do that, but staff will still pursue a change in the zoning or the storm water management ordinance. Thank you so much, Member Butler. Try it. Can you hear me? I I don't know if I can hear that mic. Why don't you try Mr. Revis's?

Okay. So, I want to make sure that I have this correct. on any case that comes before us, we could rule that the the pvious area or non

if they have stone paths and stuff like that that that we could negate that and and not make them build a drainage ditch or something because they exceeded a certain amount of square footage. Because in other cases where people have had that, we want them to use half their property to build a like a a like a you know a reservoir to to hold the water temporarily like and I and I'm fine with allowing it, but I just want to make it clear that these people can come back and say and and that could be overruled.

So th those applicants cannot come back. um their their special use permit or their their zoning has been changed. You are making a determination as to this project an indiv individualized determination for the reasons uh that have been discussed regarding uh vegetation and various other things with the water resources ordinance that in this case based on the circumstances the individualized circumstances for this purpose you're considering it pvious material.

Yeah. But I'm just I I I'm having a hard time understanding how other people who've come before us in the past uh weren't allowed to do certain things because um of pvious, you know, stone paths and stuff and and they get to, you know, I mean, I'm fine with letting them do it, but it should be that way for all. you know, I don't know how uh a stone path, you know, it the water drains through it. So, I don't know why we have to make special exceptions for them and not allow them to build a put up a greenhouse or whatever because uh they they have their driveways too long.

Well, I think what is what you're doing again is making an individualized assessment of this scenario uh for purposes of trying to figure out what should be considered pvious. And I believe what Brian had said is there's there's changes in the works with this overall anyways. So So this would be a precedent for people in the future if they needed to do that they could get the same sort of consideration.

I wouldn't call it presidential. Um again, you're making an individualized determination on this project. You're not saying that in all scenarios or on all solar farms or in all cases of gravel you considered impervious. you're saying that you're looking at this based on this project and saying we're making these findings. That's the purpose of the conditions. Um just like um when you're putting conditions on other similar situated, let's say um a special use permit for for quarrying or something like that, you're looking at that project and saying because of the specific conditions on this site, we think they need 10 conditions versus someone who may be farther away from a place. you're looking at on an individualized basis. That's the purpose of condition. So, no, this is not presidential in my mind.

But has it ever done been done before? Have we ever allowed people to exceed that calculation? I I I couldn't say uh one way or another that that's well beyond my time here. Well, I would just like to think that this option was available for other uh property owners as well.

Member member Burkowitz. Thank you. Oh, so Brian, I in my packet I only see six conditions. I don't see the seven. So, um, but I I have a question. I I'd like you to repeat it after after I ask you these questions. Um, with this asphalt, how is that going to impact Black Walnut Creek and and Plum Creek? All of that water runoff.

Okay. So, the project for the most part is not going to use any asphalt. Uh, I mean, probably the entrance points to roads, the gravel. Yeah. The gravel road

in certain areas. All right. So, here's here's the history here. So I think it was about 2010 is when the water resource ordinance was adopted and there's a a threshold in there above 25,000 square feet you need to provide storm water management. Um so there there's a couple things that had happened since that time uh looking at different studies the panels uh when water hits them they run off and infiltrate into the ground into the native plantings into the grass. So, there was a change in the code that exempted the panels from uh counting towards that 25,000 square ft. Then we ran into issues with the fire district saying we really want to have a better access road that is this wide and we don't really like the um what way I call it the pavers the permeable pavers. They don't like that as a solution to you know have them spaced out where water can infiltrate. They didn't like that because they want to have they feel that they need the ability that they got to get their trucks through this property if needed or ambulance or whatever it is and they didn't like the permeable pavers. Okay. So that pushes this over to gravel I guess. So then the next thing you know well in order to get the access road in it's going to be above 25,000 and it requires storm water management. Generally speaking, we've heard, you know, not only from the solar developers, but even people on this board that they don't want a bunch of storm water facilities built all over these uh uh solar sites, right? Because I guess the the belief is that at one time it's not going to be a solar farm and it's going to possibly go back to farming and we don't want to have storm water management facility infrastructure built. So, trying to ba balance all of these things. So, it's uh is it going to make a major impact on surrounding

property? Probably not. There's a lot of farmers that uh have gravel all over their property and, you know, it goes back, you know, maybe a 100 plus years and they've added some here and there and it's way over 25,000. I don't believe it's having a significant impact. Compacted gravel isn't the same curve number, meaning it's not the same as pavement. There is a little bit of infiltration. It's a little there's a little bit more runoff than uh than if than if it was uh just grass. Okay. So, I I I don't expect it to have a major impact because we're looking at per parcel. All right. So you're probably going to go from 25,000 to maybe 35,000 square feet of impervious area. So it's not that significant. It's like putting up a pole building on the property.

Well, I'm not as confident because just even in our own neighborhoods, the water issues just continue to grow and grow and grow and we're talking about neighborhoods that our houses are, you know, 35 years old and all of a sudden our backyards are flooding. Um I'm very very concerned about this um because it creates so many issues especially to the the residents in the area and um to the the farmers that may be farming uh in that area as well. So, um you know, the water has to go somewhere. And I do know when I was driving past um miles and miles of solar facilities yesterday, I noticed very little grew underneath those panels. It's a lot of dirt. So, um the water is going to doesn't have a lot of resistance to go off and uh flood certain areas. So, I have a big concern about that. Um, I would like to make sure that we are proactive. What I'd like to know is if we can add the condition um add the concerns and um some of the things that the soil and water conservation district wanted addressed. They indicated that filter strips, buffer areas, and grass water waterways should be maintained to pro prevent sediment runoff. So, is that something that we can put into our conditions to make sure that that's addressed? So to answer the concerns of the conservation district, uh, member Burkowitz, the county board has required at time of permitting that a conservation plan, which is actually written and worked with the conservation or the soil and

water conservation district um, be submitted to the county. So, the applicant will be required to continue to work with the soil and water conservation district um do additional field studies and propose solutions to areas that are more environmentally um sensitive and to make the right um seed mix selections for those areas as well as the general site based on the soil conditions. um they will come up with a management plan for when they recede to keep the site fully um vegetated as well as to make sure that they don't impact any of the creeks, the water uh the waterheds and things of that nature, wetlands. So we would get the executed uh conservation plan at time of permitting

and that's done with the soil correct and conservation district. Okay. And then if we did if we find that we do have water issues, what what is the plan then?

So the agriculture impact mitigation agreement that the applicant has entered into with each parcel with the department of agriculture um basically states if they impact any drain tiles, they have to repair them. um part of the permitting again they have to submit a drain tile study to the county to make to identify basically the drain tiles on all the properties that they will be developing and then again with the AMA agreement if they damage any they have to repair it. Um, I do believe the state legislation also mentions that they could potentially be on the line for um any crop loss for adjacent farmlands due to the solar facility.

And where is that recorded that that completion? Is it com recorded at the county as well as with the soil and water conservation district? The conservation plan we get a copy of that executed agreement. Um the district also keeps a copy I believe for the records. Yep. Member Galla. Thank you. So I just want to clarify. So for the um text amendment for storm water and the water resource that would be specific to a fire lane. Correct.

So you know that if that's how this board would like us to present it to the committee because we're following your lead here. This is something the board had asked us to look at at the land use and development committee meeting. So if you want to look at it for fire lane purposes only, then that's how we'll present it to the stormwater committee. All right. Thank you. Member ballots. I sorry. Oh yeah. Okay. Why don't you Okay, we're gonna let you use member Mitchell's again. Remember you're on now. Nope. You're on. Okay.

Sorry. I wrote Butler twice. I said it before, but now I got to explain a little bit better. I think there you're talking about a little under four square miles of land. Not talking about a, you know, like a little farmland. Talking about four about four square miles. It's just a little bit less than that. There's 640 acres in a square mile. So, it's about four square miles. That's a large large piece of land. And we keep talking about all these different things that are coming up which should have been done in a committee. It seems like we're only rushing this thing through in a normal time. We would never be doing this. We're doing it now

where we're rushing this through just because a company is not going to be able to make the cut off to get subsidies from the federal government or the state or whoever. And so we're supposed to be voting yes or no because we can do either wrong without going to jail. Like I said, but what that's important, you know, but uh we really got to uh understand if we don't know what we're voting on or we don't agree with something, how do we vote right? We can't vote right, we're going through all this stuff and I'm listening to what they say and then then someone else says something that contradicts what that one. It's like uh this is the wrong place for that, you know. And you know, I'm kind of upset we didn't vote uh send it back to the committee, but I get it. This is all about big money.

Yeah.

And if you take the money away, the company probably is going to say, "I don't know if I want to do it or not." Because that's as I always said that, you know, the only way solar is uh going to work is if the taxpayers pay it on their electric bills. You know, a little fee. Everybody pays a little fee for that. and the federal government gives you more money that comes from the taxpayer and the state gives you money that goes from the taxpayer. So, it's like everyone pays and then the solar company gets rich, which is okay. Guess capitalism. I love it. But I don't like the idea that I'm going to have to uh try to figure this out in uh what a half hour, 45 minutes. It's we should be talking about this for a committee where we could talk for two hours about it if we have to.

But that's all I got to say. I'm kind of like perplexed why we just keep going on and on during every meeting. I'm going to agree with you though. Um, County Board Member Van Dyene and then Bulock.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I I I think this board is looking way too much into this. Th this this was agreed to uh by one of our members. It was a request to go from grass to gravel and to have the fire department have better access to the panels if if they're in case of fire. Um, Earth Rid is spending more money on gravel than than the perious uh uh streets that they had or the or the grass that they had before. So, um, both are in agreement. I don't know why we keep discussing this. Let's let's just let's just take it to a vote.

Member Bulock. Remember, if you want to call the vote, you can't speak. Member Bullock. Yeah. Okay. I didn't know you were good. I was following the question. questions. Okay, we have a motion to call. I I think we were done there anyway. So, we're going to call. We are Everyone has spoken. Madame clerk, uh please. So, this is on I This is What's the room? We're No, we're not going to call. No, there's no one else speaking. We're not calling the question anymore. This is on the actual vote. Does everyone know what they are voting on at this point? This is amendment. Yep. Well, there.

Would you like to have Frankie read it one more time? Frankie, can you please I'm sorry. Member Pretzel, will you please read the We're voting. We're done with discussion, but he's going to read it one more time for us. Amending condition number seven. Notwithstanding any other provision in the Will County Code, including chapter 164 of the Will County Code, the fire lanes, including access roads, shall be gravel per the request of the fire departments. Any such gravel fire lanes shall be considered pvious under the Will County Code. We have a motion. We have a second. We're going to take the roll call. One one more. This is it folks. One more.

Thank you so much. So I I would like to ask so when we're looking at this is 2,258 acres part about for each different parcel we would apply this differently. Correct. If they if the Mooney fire chief says yes I'm fine with all this but the creep uh if the mooney said yeah I'm fine with wetlands but not over pipelines. Would we do it specific by each fire department for the whole thing or does the whole project get I I don't know. That's my last question.

So when on the previous condition when we talked about fire district approval, that would be whatever the district is that's in that area. Now for this one, the way the condition is currently worded here, I'm looking at the ordinance. It says fire lane shall be gravel. It sounds like board member Pretzel had some additional language not to be counted as pvious. So the way it's worded right here, it's saying they shall be graveled, meaning they have to be gravel. Now, if you want it different, that would be No. No. I just I get that question. All right. Thank you. So, we have a motion. We have a second. Madam clerk, please call the role. Yes. Richmond. Yes. Williams. Dean Schlottman. Yes.

Ogala? Yes. Pretzel? Yes. Butler? Oxley, Brooks, yes. Bulock, Logan, Freeman, Revis, Mitchell. Ortiz, yes. Burkowitz, hickey, Costa R. Yes. Van 20 20 20 in the affirmative. The motion carries. Chair Prtzel.

Okay. I'm going to move to amend condition number eight. And they the only change comes at the end. So let me read through this condition eight. Prior to the commencement of construction or issuance of a site development permit on any parcel affected by the special use permit, the applicant will negotiate and have executed a road use agreement with each of the township road districts and postroad district shy bonds as required by such agreements consistent with the will county ordinance. That's the change, the consistent with the will county ordinance. And I so move. Second Dean Schlotman.

Motion by Pretzel, seconded by Dean Schlottman. We discussion member Gala.

Thank you. So I was asked to put this on as a condition as well and the reason was is that there was there was quite a bit of difficulty that was happening between the developer and the road commissioner. though there was said well we did contact them but the contact wasn't what I might call contact. So I added this to say that they need to have this agreement before construction begins because a lot of times you'll see that these developers have gone out on other solar facilities not Earthrise but other ones and they've started doing work and they haven't had these road agreements in place. one I could tell you is on Kennedy Road. They started doing things out that way and they had no agreement with Pietone Township. So, this was to just to make sure that these road agreements exist prior to any construction development. And I know that's part of our ordinance. So, is this just clarifying to make sure they're getting their eyes and tees crossed to make sure that that is part of it? I wanted it added so that we were safe on it because I know you guys mentioned, hey, it happens later on. I don't want I only can make changes now. So, I wanted to make sure that we were making it specific that this was done for us versus what might happen, asking a question.

County uh to answer the question with that, our solar ordinance does require a road use agreement. Um, usually that's going to be they have to get sign off by the road authority for the building permit and site development permits to get a permit issued from the county. Um, we have found that adding a regulation that they have to do a road use agreement outlining when they do a road survey of all the roads that are either within the township uh, local municipality control or um, I do county DOT that they have those conversations with those entities to make sure that they are adhering to all the appropriate weight load limits on the roads um as well as all the other regulations that the road districts have. Um and part of their permit that they would submit from the road district to our office would basically acknowledge that they have taken the surveys, the road use agreement with that entity.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second. Madam Madam is ruled by Van Dy, seconded by Hickey. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. Okay. And last, there's just a note on here again from the attorney, Mr. Jacobe. He just wants to make sure the language where it says the appellant in the Plumb Valley ordinance needs to reflect the applicant, which is Sparrow Property Management LLC. I don't know if I need to make any Did it again. We're good there. Yeah, that that's just a scrier's error.

Got it. So, we can move on. Okay. So I would like to uh move that we uh approve this as amended or vote vote to approve it as amended. Motion by um motion by pretzel seconded by uh sorry trir madam a roll call. Did someone say roll call? So we're amending this amendment here. Okay madam clerk please call this. Are we no I think it's just a this is just is this just the vote? This is the the the vote on number three. All right. OD26. Sorry, I thought. All right. So, we have a motion. Second. Any discussion? Member Bulock. Yes. Thank you.

You're on there. Sorry, I thought you were I just want to make sure. Are we voting to approve the changes as a whole? We're voting on the entire thing right now. Okay. As you're now voting on the entire thing with the a with these conditions that have been amended and amended. So, yes. So this is So we have a motion. We have a second. Madame clerk, please call the role. Richmond Williams Dean Slutman Ogala. Pretzel. No. Butler Oxley. Brooks. Yes.

Bulock. Logan Freeman. Revvice. Yes. Mitchell. No. Ortiz. Yes. Burkowitz. Hickeyi. Yes. Costa. Trineer. Yes. Mand. Yes.

10 in the affirmative.

With stem with 10 in the affirmative. The motion carries. Moving on to number four on today's agenda, the 26-109, zoning case 25-129, Lincoln Solar Energy LLC, requesting a special use permit for commercial solar energy facility, Manhattan, Green Garden, Green Garden, Wilton Township. Uh, multiple properties roughly located I'm sorry, I'm reading. Yeah. Yeah. roughly located in the south of West Snunkle Road, west of 104th Avenue, east of South Galaga Road, and north Sorry.

Yeah, I'm okay. I just want to make sure. North of West Wilmington Potone Road, County Board District 2 and three. Pursuant to yesterday's court ruling, I'd like to make a motion to remove this from today's agenda and remand back to PCC. Move. Motion. Thank you. Motion by Pretzel. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to make sure. Motion by Pretzel, seconded by uh seconded by Hickeyi. Do you would like a roll call vote? Um do we have a roll call? Okay. This This is to bring it back to as PC. As with our temporary restraining order requires us to go back to PCC. Madam clerk, I heard somebody yell roll call. So, madam clerk, please call the role. Uh

I don't know. Do you want me to ask Richmond? Williams. Dan Schlottman. Ogala. Yes. Russell. Yes. Butler. Yes. Oxley. Brooks. Yes. Bulock. Logan. Freeman. Revisit. Yes. Mitchell. Yes. Ortiz. Yes. Burkowitz. Hickey. Yes. Costa. Trineer. Yes. Van. What's another Oh, yeah. 19. What is it? Is that 19? With 19 with 19 in the affirmative. The motion carries.

Okay. Thank you, Madam Executive. The next land use and development committee meeting is scheduled for May 7th, 2026. Thank you. Thank you. Sorry, I'm getting my notes back in place here. We're going to move on. Um I don't know who the No, you were doing You were doing Okay. Um

they're just debating for a break. All right. I just go They're going to flood the washrooms and we're going to be waiting a long time. So, we're going to as best as we can, we're coming back. We're going to start in um in in 15 minutes. We'll restart. Well, just because they're going to everyone's going to use their washroom. It's going to take a while. So, I'm going to say 15 minutes. We're going to restart again. Thank you. It's a big hotel.

We're going to begin with finance committee vice. Okay. All right. Vice chair. Okay. Um, Burkowitz Finance Committee. Thank you, Madame Executive. Uh, the Finance Committee has one resolution, resolution 26-110, which is the appropriation of grant funds for the Illinois Department of Public Health School Health Center grant. And I so moved.

Motion by Burkwitz, seconded by Freeman. Any discussion? Any discussion? Madame clerk, please call the role. Richmond. Williams, yes. Dean Schlottman, yes. Ogala, yes. Pretzel, Butler, yes. Oxley Brooks, yes. Bulock, Logan, Freeman. Revisit, yes. Hickeyi Costa Traer. Yes. Vand 28 in the affirmative. The motion carries

and I submit the monthly finance reports uh to be placed on file and I so move. Motion by Burwitz, seconded by Oxley. Previous roll call by Mitchell, seconded by Hickeyi. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. Thank you. And our next finance committee meeting is scheduled for May 5th, 2026. See you there. Moving on to public works and transportation. Chair Traneer.

Thank you, Madame Executive. Uh, we have a fairly large consent agenda today and I'd like to know if there's any county board members who wish to remove anything from the consent agenda before we go through them. Nothing. All right. Uh, letter Authorizing transfer of jurisdiction of E12000 N road countyline road to the county of will by kinka county under Illinois highway code county board district number two. Letter B, authorizing an agreement with the LNS development group for LLC for improvements on Larway Road from Cedar to Spencer Road County Board District 2. Letter C, a resolution confirming award of contract to Austin Tyler Construction, Inc. Let on March 18th, 2026, Francis Road from Gala Road to Wart Road improvements in County Board District 5. Letter D, resolution confirming award of contract to PT Pharaoh Construction Company let on March 19th, 2026, Renwick Road from east of US Route 30 to west of Weber Road resurfacing county board's districts 578 and 9. Letter E, resolution confirming award of contract to PT Pharaoh Construction Company let on March 18, 2026 resurfacing various roadways in Planefield Township County Board District 8. Letter F, ordinance authorizing approval of the resol revision of altered speed zone 548 along Cedar Road, County Boards District 4 and 5. Letter G, ordinance authorizing approval of the establishment of an altered speed zone 713 along Cedar Road in County Board District 4 and five. Letter H, resolution authorizing approval of professional services agreement for design engineering services with AECOM Technical Services, Inc. upgrading track traffic signals on

five county highways. Section 26-000000-1TL County Board Districts 23456 8 and 9. Letter I. Resolution authorizing approval of professional services agreement for design engineering services with Hampton, Lenzini, and Renwick, Inc. for Brig Street and Copperfield Avenue. Section 26-00150-18 TL County Board District 6, letter J. Resolution authorizing approval of professional services agreement for design engineering services with Farnsworth Group, Inc. for the intersection of Exchange Street and Western Avenue section 260086-27-TL County Board District 3 Letter K. Resolution authorizing approval of Sepin Leno Professional Services Agreement with HW Lochner Inc. on the Lairway Road and US Route 52 intersection section 20-00138-43-CH County Board Districts 2 and 6. Letter L, resolution authorizing approval of professional services agreement for design engineering services with Willlet Hoffman and Associates for Wilton Township Road District County Board District 2, letter M. Resolution authorizing approval of professional services agreement for design engineering services with Willlet Hoffman and Associates for maintenance repair work for structure and a pertinent work and I hate that word on various county highway bridges county boards district 1 2 3 4 5 and six letter N resolution authorizing approval of professional services agreement for design engineering services with Paralite Clark LLC for Bluff road from I55 West Frontage Road to US6 section 26-00153-06FP

County Board District number one. Letter O, resolution appropriating $1,49,940 of transportation funds for the acquisition of necessary right-of-way by agreement or condemnation and other right-of-way costs associated with the improvements for the intersection of Lairway Road and US Route 45, County Board District 2. Letter P, resolution appropriating $973,600 of transportation funds for the acquisition of necessary right-of-way by agreement or condemnation and other right-of-way costs associated with the improvements for the intersection of Larway Road from Cedar Road to Spencer Road, County Board District number two. Letter Q, resolution providing title commitment reports for for use by county from Wheatland Title Guarantee Company for the intersection of Brig Street and Copperfield Avenue section 26-0000150-18-LA County Board District 6. Letter R, resolution providing title commitment reports for use by county from Wheatland Title Guarantee Company for the intersection of Exchange Street and Western Avenue section 26-000086-27-LA County Board District 3, letter S, resolution providing title commitment reports for use by the county from Wheatland Title Guarantee Company for Mills Road, County Highway 51, from US Route 52 2 to Brig Street section 22-000047-11PV County Board District 6. And I so move. I think I'm dizzy now. Motion by Traneer, seconded by Revis. Previous roll call, I heard it by Freeman, seconded by Axley. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries.

Next public works and transportation committee meeting is scheduled for May 5th. Thank you. We're moving on to legislative committee. Who is the vi vice? Oh, I'm sorry. I skipped public health and sorry, sorry, I just went to the red. Um, public health and safety. Chair Butler, yours will work. It just needs probably a couple seconds to warm up. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. We have nothing to move forward and our next meeting is May 7th. Okay. Thank you. Legislative committee vice chair Ogala.

Thank you. We have one resolution to bring forward. Resolution 26-1130/26-46091 resolution restoring local control to county boards related to commercial solar facilities. And I so move. Motion by Ogala, seconded by Freeman. Any discussion? Previous roll call by Ox. Oh, I'm sorry. Um, member Ortiz. Hello. Give it a couple seconds. We've learn. We're getting better now. Tap it. You're good now. Hello. Yep. Thank you.

So, I want to start by saying that I appreciate the intent behind this resolution because local control does matter. As county board members, we are closest to our communities. We do hear directly from residents. We do understand the character of our towns best and we do see firsthand how development impacts farmland, neighborhoods, and long-term planning. I do believe our voices should be part of the process, but we also have to acknowledge the full picture. The state didn't step in without reason. They were there were inconsistencies across counties, challenges in citing renewable energy, and broader statewide goals around sustainability. namely the state of Illinois has a goal of reaching 100% renewable energy by 2050. So to me, this isn't a simple choice between local control or state authority. It's about balance. And respectfully, I want to add this that there's been a lot of talk about long-term impacts and some saying that they won't be around to see these projects decommissioned. But in 25 years, I'll only be 55. I will be here. My children will be here. So, I think carefully about long-term consequences of the decisions we make today because I will live them. And I want to be sure that I'm doing my part to help us reach our climate goals responsibly. Because while we should absolutely protect our farmland and ensure thoughtful development, we also have a responsibility to be part of a bigger conversation about energy, infrastructure, and the future of our region. I don't believe the answer is an extremes where one lo where one level of government has all the power and the other has none. The opportunity is to advocate for a system that respects local input, that ensures consistency and fairness, and still allows us to meet our long-term energy needs responsibly. So, as I consider this resolution, I'm not just thinking about where we've been, but where we're going because our role isn't just to react. It's to help shape better policy moving forward. Thank you.

Thank you, member RV. Thank you, Madam Executive. Uh I don't want to uh repeat much of what has already been said throughout our meeting today, but we're in this uh position because of unchecked politicians in Springfield. Uh we know which party uh that they Let's not make it political. Let's not make it political. I'm not mad executive. Okay. Well, you you just implied. So, let's just stick to the facts. That is a fact. Well, let's just stick to your It's a fact. I will stick to my comments. Let's not Yeah, please tell us not make

I'm gonna continue with my comments here. So, um, we're in this position because of unchecked politicians in Springfield. They've stripped local control from our communities and towns in favor of more state control. But if you think it stops at the energy issue and solar farms and data centers, you're wrong. Uh, look at what they're doing with your insurance plans, your auto insurance, your home insurance, uh, prescription drug affordability. They what they're doing is they are increasing state control in favor of limiting local control, individual control, uh that results in higher costs for consumers and our residents and with worse outcomes. Um solar, getting back to solar, as we heard in this room, it's like a 50/50 issue. But you know what isn't a 50/50 issue? Property taxes. That's a 95% plus issue. Every single person in this room, whether they're a homeowner, a farm owner, a a farmer, a business owner, they feel the pain from property taxes. So, I'd like to make a plea to my friends in private sector labor that are in the room today, the journeyman, the apprentice, apprentices, uh the business manager. Um we need your help. Uh if we were to achieve real property tax relief in this state, we would have developments coming here that do not need taxpayer subsidies to employ people. We need to implement a check on Springfield and I think this resolution does that and I'm in favor of it. But we can't stop just here. We need to continue advocating for relief with property taxes because doing that we will we will be able to bring developments here that bring jobs, employ labor, and uh result in better outcomes for our residents. So, thank you. I encourage everyone to vote yes on this.

Thank you, Member Butler.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I too like this uh resolution. I like the fact that it gives a control back to the local government. Um I know that we want renewable energy. I don't think there is really truly any uh free energy. I mean, solar panels need to be replaced and repaired, you know, and there goes there's a lot that goes into that. So, there's waste, but our federal government has been telling us for four or five years now that solar will not handle the infrastructure that's coming, that we will have to go to modular nuclear and what takes up less a lot less land. The 800 acre data center is going to require just under a megawatt. That means it would take about 25,000 acres of solar panels to equal that. That would cover Green Garden and then some. I mean, it's just not feasible to use enough solar panels to to get us the energy we need. We wouldn't have any space left. We have to do something different. We need to get the control back. Many of these townships are not saying that they won't have solar, but they have plans and they have places for them. And they should be allowed to have that happen in those places. They should be able to design their townships and their areas and their futures. And big corporations shouldn't be able to come in and change all that. And I don't know of any other power uh you know industry that gets this kind of treatment and I don't think it's fair. So I'm in 100% support of this resolution. Thank you.

Member Burwitz.

Thank you Madame Executive. So, we're in a sad time in local government when we have a public act that restricts the county board from representing their constituents and preventing us from voting against commercial solar facilities. This has ex accelerated the rush to develop good prime farmland. That's why this resolution is so important. I do wish this resolution included wind and battery facilities. Um but I know that the votes are not here to make that change. So, it's strictly titled commercial solar facilities. Again, this resolution is important though. We need to get our voice to the legislators in Springfield that we are elected by the people to represent our communities and our communities are very diverse and we know our communities here in the county. Each one of us. So we heard today about how there aren't many farmers out out there. There aren't weren't a lot of farmers here today. That's because they're out there working today. They work during the day out on the land and then in the evening they do all that work that they can't do while they're tending their fields. our agriculture, which Will County is

very blessed to be such a diverse county with rural and urban communities. We employ so many so many different fields. Just in our agriculture fields, we have farm hands and ranchers and crop managers. In the technical industry, we farming requires machine operators, agronomists, agricultural engineers, drone technologists, hydraologists, welders, equipment technicians, and yes, farming does require legal advisors. In addition to that, in the business and economic careers, they need agricultural sales reps, loan officers, and marketing specialists, and agricultural commodity traders. These are all the things that are done in the background. It's more than just a beautiful green field with that wonderful black Illinois dirt. There are opportunities for skilled technologies and professional sc uh professional scientists in these rural agricultural businesses. This is why this resolution is so important. So we can at least have our voice in the future of solar technology here. We are not against solar, wind and battery. But there is a place and there's a process. We have a zoning

process. zoning. Everyone else has to go through the zoning process, but we are also forced to put an industrial use on a residential agriculturally zoned parcel. So again, please consider supporting this resolution so we can give our constituents the voice that they deserve. Thank you, Member O'alla. Just give a couple seconds.

Yeah, thank you. Um, so I totally agree with the fact that we need to do this. We heard multiple times from various different and also my conversations I've had myself that the intent of the legislators was not to take away our local control. So maybe with this they'll read this and remember the conversations they had and understand that we do need local control because for one family to be surrounded completely by solar that parcel would be not a right choice and so we need to be able to have that decision. I also don't think the government should be picking winners and losers and that this saying that we need to go all green energy by whatever year because there's so many different ways to achieve that smartly by using all our energy sources. But I do want to thank Joe for bringing this forward. I think that's good. I think that we should take this letter and send it to every legislature so legislators so that they hear what we're trying to say and we should take from this moment forward to do all we can to get changes in the legislation. So local control comes back. A special use permit is a re is something that we have for a reason and they shouldn't just be granted it basically by right. Thank you. Thank you. Moving on to member Trineer then Botage. Okay. All right. Member and then by Dan. Okay. Member Balich. Give it give it a couple seconds. We're getting a little better at this. want to hit Judy's.

Oh, never mind. Hit it. Oh, you know what? You have I I put your name on. You grabbed Mitchell's. That's why because you were using Mitchells, but you're fine now. You're on. You're on, too, though. So,

well, I just uh want to add something to this. There's a thing called what Dan Butler was talking about, modular nuclear. I would like to see a resolution from this committee saying that we would have our lobbyists lobby in Washington to the NRC to reduce the time that would cost in time for getting permits for modular nuclear because what they're right now their permits are based on like a big giant plant like Dresden when these modular nuclear are just real small And so they're using the same criteria for both. So we need to it would be a good idea for our county to lobby the federal government to get those permits where they could be done in a year or two. And that would make it so instead of dealing with solar, which really isn't viable as far as money unless you get subsidies, these these other things they don't they work year round. Not like solar in the winter. It's not too good. So, I I really Who do I say that? Do I tell Joe to do that? Joe, did you hear me? All right. Just want to make sure. Member Van Dy, hold on. Give a second. Sorry, they have you two switched that side.

Oh, okay. Thank you, madame executive. Um, just for clarification, if you do read the body of the resolution, it does also mention uh wind farms and also battery storage. So, I I wanted to make that clear. Um, also with this resolution, it has gained some traction through uh a few townships that I've spoken to, a couple municipalities, the mayors of municipalities, and I've had a couple uh neighboring counties reach out to me and are interested in in some sort of resolution to this effect. So, I I I hope and I hope that um this is the start of a process where we can try to get more more legislators on involved and m and make a true difference down in Springfield. So, thank you. I I do hope that uh we all can support this resolution.

All right, we have a motion. We have a second. Is there a would you like a roll call or roll call? Metal clerk, please call the role. Richmond, Williams, Dean, Schlottman, Ogala, Pretzel, Butler, Oxley, Brooks, yes, Bulock, yes. Logan, Freeman, Revvice, Mitchell, Ortiz, no. Burkowitz, Hickey, yes. Costa R 18 with 18 in the affirmative. The motion carries.

Thank you. The next legislative committee meeting is scheduled for May 5th. Thank you. Thank you. We're going to move on to member Freeman with capital improvement and IT. Good afternoon. Thank you. Um great conversation. Everybody should check out the agenda we had posted. We are talking and have examples of some ideas for um facility needs possibilities. Um and we had nothing to bring forward. Thank you. Your next meeting. Oh yeah. Uh May 5th. May 5th. May. Thank you. Two days before my birthday.

I'm moving on to landfill committee. Chair Oxley. Madam Chairman. Thank you. Um as everyone knows, we have a the compressor ordered for the gas plant. We're moving forward with that. And our next meeting is May 12th, 9:00 a.m. Thank you. Thank you. Speaker Vanine, executive committee.

Thank Thank you once again. Um, we do have four items on our consent agenda. Does any county board member wish to remove any item for the from the agenda before I continue? Seeing none, uh, starting with letter A, resolution 26-131, authorizing the development of a strategic plan for the Will County Board. Resolution 26-132 authorizing the county executive to execute an IGA with the city of Neighborville to provide an access to the countywide radio system. And we do have two ordinance amending uh amendments to the code chapter 119 and 122. And I would like to make that motion.

Motion. Yeah. Motion by uh Vanine, seconded by Tre Free. Well, we have uh Madame Clerk, please call the role. We have to we have Richmond, Williams, Dean, Schlottman, Ogala, Pretzel, Butler, Bich, Oxley, Brooks. Yes. Bulock, Logan, Freeman, Revvice, Mitchell, Ortiz, Burkowitz, Hickey, Costa, Traineer, yes,

good 20. 20 in the affirmative. The motion carries. Thank you. I think I'm shut up. Okay, here we go. Uh we do have a number of appointments by the county executive starting with resolution 26-135 authorizing the appro the appointment of the county executive for Shanahan fire protection district and I so move hold okay hold on one second you have one item not on the consent agenda yesterday so you you have to go back I did okay so let us go back well we're in the yeah let's go back to the one item that's not on the consent agenda

my apologies Uh, I'll I'll make a motion to approve resolution 26-134, ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances, Title 11, Business Regulations, Chapter 122, Wireless Telecommunications Facilities. There's a motion by Van Dy, seconded by Hickeyi. Any discussion? Madame clerk, please call the role. Richmond, yes. Williams, Dean Schlottman, yes. Ogala, Pretzel, Butler, Balich, Oxley, Brooks, Bulock, Logan, Freeman, Revvice, Mitchell, Ortiz, yes,

Burkowitz, Hickeyi, yes, Costa R. Yes. Bandine, yes. 20 in the firm. The motion carries. Thank you. Back to the appointment. I would lay like to re make a motion for resolution 26-135 approving appointments by the county executive for the Shanahan fire protection district. Nice will move. Motion by Van Dy, seconded by Freeman. Previous roll call by Hickeyi, seconded by Trinire. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. Resolution 26-136 approving the appointment to Manhattan Fire Protection District of Will County. That's a move. Motion by Van Dyene,

seconded by Brooks. Previous roll call by Burkowitz, seconded by Mitchell. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. Number three, resolution 26-137, approving the county executive appointments to the Mon Fire Protection District of Will County. I so move. Motion by Van Dy, seconded by Freeman. Previous roll call by Mitchell, seconded by Burkowitch. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Resolution 26-138 uh approving the appointment to the Northwest Homer Fire Protection District of Will County. And I make that motion. Motion by Van Dy, seconded by Freeman, previous roll call by Mitchell, seconded by Brooks. All in favor? I.

Any oppose? Motion carries. Resolution 26-139 approving the county executive appointments to the Stagger Estates Fire Protection District of Will County. And I so move. Motion by Van Dy, seconded by Mitchell. Previous roll call by Freeman. Second by Burkwood. All in favor. Any opposed? Motion carries. And last 26-140 approving the county executive appointments to the Wilmington Fire Protection District of Will County. I so move.

Motion by Van Dy, second by Freeman. Previous roll call by Trir, seconded by Mitchell. All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries. We're going to move under next to public comments relative relevant to matters under the jurisdiction of the county. Is there anyone here to speak on any public comment relevant to matters under the jurisdiction of the county? Going once, going twice. All right, very good. Um, we'll move on to comments by board members. Again, please raise your hand. We will we will get you in order as best as we can. And we I'm going to I was going to remind everyone again and read the board rules, but I think we are all aware of them and I have made it clear to both your leader and uh the leader of the Democratic caucus that we really are going to keep politics out of this. I I did not like the way I handled that yesterday last week month and I am not going to have that same mistake. So um please make sure your comments are relevant to um not political and relevant to county issues. Thank you member Ogala.

Thank you. You do remember we are a political body. So having said that, I just wanted to make some more statements regarding the solar situation which we find ourselves in. Knowing that 140 million acres have been gone in the last dec decade from agricultural lands, that that should really send a message to everybody. While we're able to produce more on our farmland than we used to due to many things that a lot of you in this room don't like, which is bio-engineering, genetically modified corn and beans. um that that does feed us, feeds America and provides other things to us. So that that is something we have to look at what is the detriment to the county in the in the area of agriculture. Well, we're talking about thousands of construction jobs for the um development of these solar fields. We forget about how many jobs are lost in the agricultural committee. We had somebody here today. He did not say this, but he he is losing 200 acres that he currently farms to a solar facility because he leases this land. Well, that's a detriment to his revenue. While these guys can go on a uh have a job or go on a vacation, he's 200 acres short in his revenue. Again, with that, the person who he bought seed from is no longer selling that seed. Nobody's selling him fertilizer. Nobody's selling him another implement to use on his farm. So, we won't see this in the immediate future, but we will see in the long term the loss of jobs in the agriculture community and not just here in Will County because jobs go beyond Will County. The grain we take to market goes to a grain elevator. There's jobs there. They go from the grain elevator to the processor and whatever they're going to process it that grain into, that's all a loss. So that is something that we have to think about because thousands of acres we're going to be if all these

solar facilities get passed we'll be over 10,000 acres of agricultural land taken out simply by solar. I don't support that. I think it's wrong when they say that this farmland can go back in the future to farming. I find that really hard to believe when for especially for the earth rise an equity firm from Texas has purchased a lot of this land 354 55 $65,000 an acre. I don't think they're converting it back to farmland. And if you go out there and look and see how these facilities are developed and they say that it's going to be virgin farmland. That's such a Oh, such a joke. Sorry. Such a funny joke. Okay. Yeah. um in the in the sense that they move top soil they move top soil to put their fire lanes in. When they then they redistribute that top soil over the top of the rest of the parcel, then you've changed the dynamics. You taken soil from this part of the parcel and moved it to another parcel. So, it isn't true that it's virgin because virgin would meet it was not moved around. So, I just wanted to make those points. um out there and my last point will be we need to remember why we have a special use permit and that why some people come and say well farmers should be able to do whatever they want with their land or any land owner should be able to do what they want with their land. Well that we don't allow that for anybody. You have to come to us get a special use permit. We put conditions on and we can deny it. It's unfortunate that we can't deny it for these situations and most importantly for the poor people who are surrounded on all sides stuck by this. And I wanted to ask this question, but we weren't asking questions. Um, how long does it take if they're working on a parcel takes 18 to 20 months? I'm wondering how long does the process to pound those posts into the ground take? Because if you haven't lived next door

to it, you don't understand the amount of noise and vibration that those residents will have. Thank you,

member Pretzel.

Yeah, I appreciate member Ogala's comments. I want to echo a lot of that, but I guess and I know we just passed a resolution, you know, that that'll go down to Springfield and kind of voice our our thoughts on this. But I guess what's so frustrating to me is we we're like the model county for how this process should work. For every one that we've said no to, we've said yes to around 10. And there's some board members that are a yes on every single one. Some board members are a no on every single one. But the process has worked here in Willow County. Most of these applicants have gotten through the process and and been able to move forward and we're granting extension after extension. We're working with these companies. And you hear every mayor come to us um pro solar, but not this one. And and I guarantee there's a project that even those of you that have said yes to all of them, you know, there's there's got to be one that you might object to, right? This is scary that they've taken full control o away from us. And if it's solar today, what can they do this to down the road? And what if it's oil pipelines? Maybe you don't like solar but or you love solar, but how do you feel about oil pipelines? I mean, what if the next administration when Illinois becomes Republican in 30 years, all of a sudden they want to put oil pipelines through all of our farmland? And I mean, are you okay with that, too? And maybe you are, but shouldn't we have a say? Like member Ogala said, I mean, the special use process is important and they've stripped us of that power. It's really scary. It's sad. Uh, I've said it before, I'll say it again. It makes me feel dirty. the people that elected me expect me to vote based on, you know, what they're asking for from me. And if they don't like it, they have the right to vote me out. But this is changes everything. We don't even have a say

anymore. And it's frustrating. So those of you that voted no on the resolution, I you know, I ask you to put a lot of thought into that. What we're really trying to accomplish here, it's not just about solar. It's about us having some local control over what happens in our county on our farmland, our ability to have a voice with these special use permits. So, I leave you with that. I hope the media is writing about this. I hope you guys are banging the drum to your constituents. This isn't right. And again, it's not just about solar. It's about Springfield mandating what we can do on our lands or what we have to do and then threatening us personally and as a county and threatening us to bankrupt us for crying out loud. I mean, it's just it's it's unreasonable. So, I hope that you guys are spreading the word. I know I will be, but it's all I have. Thank you,

Member Mitchell. during the course of uh and it's related to solar but not during the course of the discussion regarding our solar situation it was mentioned several times um that we don't understand down by the farm world we northerners and I just want to say that um as an elected official or will county I represent anybody who comes to me in Will County I represent all of Will County so if the people care about it. I care about it. So, I just wanted just wanted to remind everyone that yes, I care about your district, too. I care about my district. Yes, I'm supposed to. That's who elects me. But I care about what happens in everybody's. And I and I I want to just make sure that everybody understands that. So, when as a solar I understand that the farmers want to do what they want to do with their land. I understand the all the dynamics and I will fight for them as long as they ask us to. So, that's it. Okay, we're going to move at member Ortiz.

Give it a second. Thank you.

Okay. Uh, first I want to acknowledge something that was just said. The county executive shared that she didn't like how the last meeting was handled, and I do appreciate that acknowledgement. At the same time, I would just like to point out that when something similar happened in my case, the response was very different. My microphone was cut off. There was a memo issued about decorum and I was removed from chairing my committee. That inconsistency matters. We should be applying our rules evenly and fairly to every board member every single time. Otherwise, it raises real concerns about unequal treatment and discrimination. So, I just wanted to say that. Um, what I was actually going to say was even though I don't agree with the resolution that they passed today regarding the solar farms, I do want to give credit where it's due. uh when I first started bringing forward resolutions as legis as legislative committee chair, especially with the will county commitment resolution, there was a lot of push back and at times confusion about the difference between what a resolution and what a proclamation was. So, I'm very very happy to see that clarity has developed and that the board is continuing to practice the use of using resolutions to formally communicate our position to Springfield. Uh, we might not agree on this one, but progress in the formal communication process is still progress nonetheless. So, thank you,

Member Hickey. Hold on one second. Here we go. Yep.

Good afternoon, everyone. Um, I would like to take a minute to recognize the people who were really against the solar farms. I I know there are concerns. I know there's concerns about farmland going away and, you know, having the ability to guide how their communities are formed. And and I hear those and and I hope that everyone knows that by the votes that were taken today, those aren't to invalidate those concerns or feelings. And we understand that people are probably angry, but this is the reality that we have right now. And you know, voting no isn't going to stop these projects. It's not going to give us back control. It's not going to come up with alternate uses for uh this property. So, I I just really hope that we can all agree that we are here trying to do some risk management of our own and trying to make sure that we're doing best by our constituents. And so when it comes to upholding the law and listening to our constituents and watching out for the financial security of our county, those are three very important rules that we have as county board members. But unfortunately when the law says that we have to do something, we can't ignore that in order to fulfill the other two duties. So, I just I would really like to recognize the fact that there are people that are very upset and I understand that and I don't I I I understand where they're coming from and I just really appreciate the fact that we were able to have some

wholesome discussion today and get to an agreement. So, thank you. Thank you. Last call for county board members. Uh Mr. Richmond, do you have anything you'd like to add? All right, there you go. You're on.

I know. We had a We've had a lot of uh stuff to read over the course of the past couple weeks and months. Um and I noticed one of the words in there talked about solar energy facilities. And I guess I have a hard time understanding how that fits into agriculture when anything else that would have energy facility written in it would fall under an industrial use. But um I I've talked about this for probably over a year. We sit in the center of the country and at a national agenda we're talking about reshoring or onshoring as much of our manufacturing and productivity whether it's pharmaceuticals, technology, um everything like that. We sit in the center of the country. We have all the infrastructure whether it's roadways, air, uh airports, uh uh rails, uh rivers, uh lakes, things like that. We should be focused on trying to bring as much of that industry back to our part of the country because at the center of all that, we have the best labor force. And they were sitting back in this room here. They represented all different trades in that. That's a hardworking group of people that are willing to put their lives day in and day out and build things for us that this country needs and uses. And on top of that, we have the natural resources just sitting right in our backyard. Now, let me come full circle to what we had to deal with today. We had to deal with a binding law with no discretion. It's basically been eliminated by us by the state. Uh, this solar amendment restricts the county's decision-making process. Um, it's it's non-discretionary statutory duty for us county officials to push these solar per permits forward. We then had a local appellet court um make a decision that in turn forced us to follow the case law. Otherwise, based

on what I've been able to understand is is um they could have legal remedies that could include but is not limited to fine, sanctions, and contempt of court. Now, the fines in that would be for the county. The contempt of court would be on us personally, which in turn could put us in jail. At 65 years old, I don't want to spend the last years of my life in in any kind of jail. And I know no one else in this room would want to do the same thing. At the same token, Herb, thank you. I like the thumbs up on that one. Um, yeah, two thumbs up. Yeah. So, this was this was not a decision that anybody here took lightly. And Frankie, I think you used the best possible description. I feel dirty about this. My take is somebody might not like one of my words, but we just got handed a six foot long sandwich that we had to choke down. And to me that we're here to represent the people. We're here to represent the citizens, but we also have to abide by the law. And unfortunately, we had to take a tough vote today. Um I'd like to see that us work to strive to bring more productive, more long-term jobs, more good paying jobs. If we can get these manufacturers to come to our our area of the country, specifically Will County in the state of Illinois, that is going to not only increase our tax base, it's going to increase the revenue stream and it'll help bring Illinois from one of the bottom states of, you know, uh, or I should say the top states for property taxes and things like that and try and bring things more in line. So, anything we can do as a board and as a county and as staff to bring productive businesses to this county, and I know we've got some going on right now, we should be looking to do that as a as a group. So, that's all I have to say. I appreciate everybody's uh attentiveness today and you know what? Um, let's just try and move forward from here. So, thanks.

Thank you. We're going to move on to Lita Williams. Do you have anything? I second a second. they send.

Okay. I I do appreciate all the patience everybody has had today. I will say that um just like most people in this room, I don't like the state basically just telling us what we have to do. But I also spent over 20 years as a dispatcher at the Will County Sheriff's Department and I know that we expect everybody to follow the law. So when we don't like the law, then we need to work to change the law. And I'm not really hearing anybody saying that. We're complaining about what's going on, but are we ready to change the law? I am. So what are we going to do to get that law changed? Because that's the only way that this is going to stop. We can complain about Springfield all day long, but if we're not willing to work to fight to get what we need and what we want Springfield to do, because they're elected just like we are. So, uh, they don't have to be in office just like we don't have to be if they're not doing what we want them to do, what we put them down there to do. So, if we want to change things, that kind of is on us and we can't just be crybab and just say, "Well, well, well, look what the state's doing. They're doing it again." Well, they are doing it again and it's up to us to change that. So, I'm going to be um I know I've contacted my legislators already and I plan to continue to do that if everybody really does want to see change. It's great to make resolutions and all that, but to me that that's that's just a little bit benign for me. I like a little bit more action than that. That's probably why I was a union activist. Um but but the fact remains if we want things to change, we are the ones that have to change it and it's within our power to do so. So, we need to do that and I hope that we can work to get that done. And of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the strategic plan which is going into effect. So, expect to get some um notifications from Lori about when we're going to meet and some of the meetings will be offsite. So,

hopefully everybody will be um participating and I'm looking for some good information from you guys because I' I've heard it individually. So, I'm hoping that we can set it straight and then maybe also put Will County on the path to do the things that we want to be done. So, thank you. Thank you. Moving on to Speaker Van Dy.

Thank you once again, Madame Executive. Um, I simply just want to put out some thank yous. Uh, first of all, for the board to acknowledge the importance of the resolution. uh we will continue to fight. Um thank you for that. Um I want to thank uh your team, county executive, uh and and the state's attorney's office for all the hard work I've seen personally over the last couple months with this major project coming and and continue to work on the on the project uh next month. Um county board staff has put in a lot of hours and a lot of effort as well. I want to I want to thank them. It's it has not been a very easy uh path over the last few months. So, thank you to Thank you to you folks. Uh I want to thank uh the Joliet Police Department for providing safety um to not only the residents but to us us elected officials. And I would be remissed without mentioning um Earthrise for providing a venue for us that is large enough to not only uh provide voices to the people that are in favor of their project but also for the constituents that are not. Um, this venue and the last few venues has not cost the county a single dollar. And I I want to thank Earth Rise once again for providing that for us and um enjoy the rest of your day and hopefully you enjoy your weekend. Thank you.

Thank you. Um I too you took away I do want to thank the staff here. Um our staff I know they've spent a lot of time. It's not easy to move a county board from a location that we're all set to a new location. So, thanks for the team back there. Uh, thank you to especially Elaine, Mike, Chuck, Tim. Tim's a great event planner. Um, we know that. So, yeah, I mean, so I we do appreciate it. We So, thank you. Yeah, thank you. We we didn't we just got to show up and, you know, try to work the mics. So, but we do appreciate it. So, thank you. We don't have any executive session. Um, so I need a motion to recess until May 21st. Motion by Mitchell, seconded by Ortiz.

All in favor? Any opposed? Motion carries.