November 7, 2018
Illinois

Wind farm opponents gain victory in DeWitt County board races

Kevin Barlow | The Pantagraph | November 7, 2018 | www.pantagraph.com

CLINTON – The opponents of a proposed DeWitt County wind farm say they earned a small victory Tuesday with changes to the DeWitt County Board.

The board is expected to decide on a special-use permit for Tradewind Energy’s application with the county’s zoning office early next year. Recently, the board voted against strengthening the current wind farm ordinances, rejecting proposed changes that could have crippled the project.

Two District D incumbents, Cris Rogers and Sue Whitted, both Democrats, ran on platforms supporting the project, but they lost to Republican newcomers Nathan Ennis and Dan Matthews, and Republican incumbent Melonie Tilley, who voted to strengthen the wind farm ordinances, retained her seat. Ennis was the top vote-getter with 742 votes. Tilley (731) and Matthews (696) finished well ahead of Whitted (508) and Rogers (467).

“I’m thrilled to see that the people of DeWitt County seem ready for new board representation,” said Andrea Rhoades, who is leading a group of residents opposed to the wind farms. “These candidates have vowed to protect the property rights of all residents and I’m looking forward to their hard work on the board.”

With one precinct remaining in District B, the three Republicans, Terry Ferguson (980) and Christina Pruser (909) and newcomer Travis Houser (954) were in a comfortable lead over incumbent Randy Perring (518), the lone Democrat.

With 22 of 23 precincts reporting, 5307 ballots were cast for a 47.9 percent turnout.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2018/11/07/wind-farm-opponents-gain-victory-in-dewitt-county-board-races/