Anti-Wind Activists Again Call for Turbine Ban in Ford County

A group of anti-wind forces in Ford County is again calling on the Ford County Board to enact wind turbine siting regulations so strict they would drive development from the county, says an article in the Champaign News Gazette:

The Ford County Board has been confronted with yet another request from a resident concerned about wind farms. And again, the board offered no discussion on whether it would consider adopting stricter regulations.

In the past year, the board has repeatedly been asked — but has refused — to discuss possible revisions to the county's ordinance regulating wind farms. Until Monday's meeting, the requests have been made mainly by Cindy and Ann Ihrke, two candidates for the board in the March 20 primary election who are both members of Energize Illinois, an organization opposed to the wind-energy industry.[...]

But on Monday night, the person requesting greater protections was Tom Harrison. His home southeast of Paxton is about a quarter-mile from one of the 94 wind turbines built last fall as part of the Pioneer Trail Wind Farm.

To protect people living near future wind farms in Ford County, Harrison suggested the board increase the county's existing 1,000-foot setback between wind turbines and "non-participating" landowners' homes. Harrison said he has heard that turbines need to be at least "a half-mile or a mile" from a home to be considered a comfortable distance away.

Citing research, the Ihrkes have also asked the board to consider amending the ordinance to require a greater setback.

Anti-Wind Activist's Claims Fall on Deaf Ears in Ford County

An anti-wind activist in eastern Illinois is asking why the Ford County Board isn't listening to her claims, despite the fact that the board dismissed much of her rambling testimony when she first addressed them last summer.

According to an article in the Champaign News-Gazette:

Ann Ihrke, a Ford County resident who plans to run for election to the county board next year, asked the board Monday night why it has refused to address concerns she raised this summer about wind farms.

Ihrke and other members of Energize Illinois, a Ford County-based group protesting the wind-energy industry, made a presentation to the board in July about their desire to see the board discuss adopting stricter regulations for wind farms.

But in the past four months, the board has not had any discussion on the matter at its monthly meetings.

"At (July's) presentation, all board members were given a notebook with approximately 300 pages outlining concerns over the erection of wind turbines in this county," Ihrke said. "Several concerns were voiced at this meeting, along with documentation and sources. Safety, health, reduction in property values and decommissioning were among those concerns."[...]

Yet "not once" has the county board discussed at its monthly meeting the possibility of updating the zoning ordinance to address this safety concern, Ihrke said.[...]

After hearing Ihrke's comments, the board had no discussion about her request and made no indication it would in future meetings.

Ihrke was one of several anti-wind activists that addressed the board last summer. The group provided the board members with thick binders containing the standard anti-wind misinformation, mixed with hyperbolic rumor and half-truths. The Board wasn't convinced, accordign to a July article in the News-Gazette:

Board member Pat Haskins of Sibley said she is open to exploring options, but expressed reservations about the information provided to the board by Energize Illinois.

"Some of the information seemed very one-sided," she said. "I've talked to other county board members from some of the other counties with existing wind farms, and they have not encountered these problems."

Bowen, along with board member Gene May, also questioned the reliability of the information presented.

"It seemed like a lot of what was presented was opinion," Bowen said. "So far, it appears there's a lot of newspaper articles expressing maybe the author's opinion or the opinions of the persons they were interviewing. And those aren't necessarily facts.

"I'm slowly working my way through the material, and if I find something that sticks out and shouts at me that I can find additional documentation on, that is factual, that's what I'm looking for — something that comes from a reliable source and can be supported in different ways," Bowen said. "I don't want someone opinion. I want real data.

It is still unclear why one would name a group "Energize Illinois" when its sole purpose is to protest and oppose energy development in Illinois.