SB 3488

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Full Text of SB3488
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	SB3488 - 104th General Assembly
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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3488
Introduced 2/5/2026, by Sen. Sally J. Turner
SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
55 ILCS 5/5-12020
Amends the Counties Code. Provides that the owner of a commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility must compensate landowners in full if the facility adversely affects the flow of water within the landowner's land, land adjoining landowner's land, or drainage district land, including, but not limited to, by affecting a drainage tile. Provides that the compensation shall be determined by the Department of Agriculture.
LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
A BILL FOR
		SB3488		LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1    AN ACT concerning local government.
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
4    Section 5. The Counties Code is amended by changing
5Section 5-12020 as follows:
6    (55 ILCS 5/5-12020)
7    Sec. 5-12020. Commercial wind energy facilities and
8commercial solar energy facilities.
9    (a) As used in this Section:
10    "Commercial solar energy facility" means a "commercial
11solar energy system" as defined in Section 10-720 of the
12Property Tax Code. "Commercial solar energy facility" does not
13mean a utility-scale solar energy facility being constructed
14at a site that was eligible to participate in a procurement
15event conducted by the Illinois Power Agency pursuant to
16subsection (c-5) of Section 1-75 of the Illinois Power Agency
17Act.
18    "Commercial wind energy facility" means a wind energy
19conversion facility of equal or greater than 500 kilowatts in
20total nameplate generating capacity. "Commercial wind energy
21facility" includes a wind energy conversion facility seeking
22an extension of a permit to construct granted by a county or
23municipality before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of
		SB3488	- 2 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1Public Act 102-1123).
2    "Facility owner" means (i) a person with a direct
3ownership interest in a commercial wind energy facility or a
4commercial solar energy facility, or both, regardless of
5whether the person is involved in acquiring the necessary
6rights, permits, and approvals or otherwise planning for the
7construction and operation of the facility, and (ii) at the
8time the facility is being developed, a person who is acting as
9a developer of the facility by acquiring the necessary rights,
10permits, and approvals or by planning for the construction and
11operation of the facility, regardless of whether the person
12will own or operate the facility.
13    "Nonparticipating property" means real property that is
14not a participating property.
15    "Nonparticipating residence" means a residence that is
16located on nonparticipating property and that is existing and
17occupied on the date that an application for a permit to
18develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial
19solar energy facility is filed with the county.
20    "Occupied community building" means any one or more of the
21following buildings that is existing and occupied on the date
22that the application for a permit to develop the commercial
23wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
24is filed with the county: a school, place of worship, day care
25facility, public library, or community center.
26    "Participating property" means real property that is the
		SB3488	- 3 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1subject of a written agreement between a facility owner and
2the owner of the real property that provides the facility
3owner an easement, option, lease, or license to use the real
4property for the purpose of constructing a commercial wind
5energy facility, a commercial solar energy facility, or
6supporting facilities. "Participating property" also includes
7real property that is owned by a facility owner for the purpose
8of constructing a commercial wind energy facility, a
9commercial solar energy facility, or supporting facilities.
10    "Participating residence" means a residence that is
11located on participating property and that is existing and
12occupied on the date that an application for a permit to
13develop the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial
14solar energy facility is filed with the county.
15    "Protected lands" means real property that is:
16        (1) subject to a permanent conservation right
17    consistent with the Real Property Conservation Rights Act;
18    or
19        (2) registered or designated as a nature preserve,
20    buffer, or land and water reserve under the Illinois
21    Natural Areas Preservation Act.
22    "Supporting facilities" means the transmission lines,
23substations, access roads, meteorological towers, storage
24containers, and equipment associated with the generation and
25storage of electricity by the commercial wind energy facility
26or commercial solar energy facility.
		SB3488	- 4 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1    "Wind tower" includes the wind turbine tower, nacelle, and
2blades.
3    (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or whether
4the county has formed a zoning commission and adopted formal
5zoning under Section 5-12007, a county may establish standards
6for commercial wind energy facilities, commercial solar energy
7facilities, or both. The standards may include all of the
8requirements specified in this Section but may not include
9requirements for commercial wind energy facilities or
10commercial solar energy facilities that are more restrictive
11than specified in this Section. A county may also regulate the
12siting of commercial wind energy facilities with standards
13that are not more restrictive than the requirements specified
14in this Section in unincorporated areas of the county that are
15outside the zoning jurisdiction of a municipality and that are
16outside the 1.5-mile radius surrounding the zoning
17jurisdiction of a municipality.
18    (c) If a county has elected to establish standards under
19subsection (b), before the county grants siting approval or a
20special use permit for a commercial wind energy facility or a
21commercial solar energy facility, or modification of an
22approved siting or special use permit, the county board of the
23county in which the facility is to be sited or the zoning board
24of appeals for the county shall hold at least one public
25hearing. The public hearing shall be conducted in accordance
26with the Open Meetings Act and shall be held not more than 60
		SB3488	- 5 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1days after the filing of the application for the facility. The
2county shall allow interested parties to a special use permit
3an opportunity to present evidence and to cross-examine
4witnesses at the hearing, but the county may impose reasonable
5restrictions on the public hearing, including reasonable time
6limitations on the presentation of evidence and the
7cross-examination of witnesses. The county shall also allow
8public comment at the public hearing in accordance with the
9Open Meetings Act. The county shall make its siting and
10permitting decisions not more than 30 days after the
11conclusion of the public hearing. Notice of the hearing shall
12be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the
13county. A facility owner must enter into an agricultural
14impact mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture
15prior to the date of the required public hearing. A commercial
16wind energy facility owner seeking an extension of a permit
17granted by a county prior to July 24, 2015 (the effective date
18of Public Act 99-132) must enter into an agricultural impact
19mitigation agreement with the Department of Agriculture prior
20to a decision by the county to grant the permit extension.
21Counties may allow test wind towers or test solar energy
22systems to be sited without formal approval by the county
23board.
24    (d) A county with an existing zoning ordinance in conflict
25with this Section shall amend that zoning ordinance to be in
26compliance with this Section within 120 days after January 27,
		SB3488	- 6 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
12023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123).
2    (e) A county may require:
3        (1) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility
4    to be sited as follows, with setback distances measured
5    from the center of the base of the wind tower:
6Setback Description           Setback Distance
7Occupied Community            2.1 times the maximum blade tip
8Buildings                     height of the wind tower to the
9                              nearest point on the outside
10                              wall of the structure
11Participating Residences      1.1 times the maximum blade tip
12                              height of the wind tower to the
13                              nearest point on the outside
14                              wall of the structure
15Nonparticipating Residences   2.1 times the maximum blade tip
16                              height of the wind tower to the
17                              nearest point on the outside
18                              wall of the structure
19Boundary Lines of             None
20Participating Property 
		SB3488	- 7 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1Boundary Lines of             1.1 times the maximum blade tip
2Nonparticipating Property     height of the wind tower to the
3                              nearest point on the property
4                              line of the nonparticipating
5                              property
6Public Road Rights-of-Way     1.1 times the maximum blade tip
7                              height of the wind tower
8                              to the center point of the
9                              public road right-of-way
10Overhead Communication and    1.1 times the maximum blade tip
11Electric Transmission         height of the wind tower to the
12and Distribution Facilities   nearest edge of the property
13(Not Including Overhead       line, easement, or 
14Utility Service Lines to      right-of-way 
15Individual Houses or          containing the overhead line
16Outbuildings)
17Overhead Utility Service      None
18Lines to Individual
19Houses or Outbuildings
20Fish and Wildlife Areas       2.1 times the maximum blade
21and Illinois Nature           tip height of the wind tower
22Preserve Commission           to the nearest point on the
		SB3488	- 8 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1Protected Lands               property line of the fish and
2                              wildlife area or protected
3                              land
4    This Section does not exempt or excuse compliance with
5    electric facility clearances approved or required by the
6    National Electrical Code, the [The] National Electrical
7    Safety Code, the Illinois Commerce Commission, and the
8    Federal Energy Regulatory Commission[,] and their designees
9    or successors; [.]
10        (2) a wind tower of a commercial wind energy facility
11    to be sited so that industry standard computer modeling
12    indicates that any occupied community building or
13    nonparticipating residence will not experience more than
14    30 hours per year of shadow flicker under planned
15    operating conditions;
16        (3) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited as
17    follows, with setback distances measured from the nearest
18    edge of any component of the facility:
19Setback Description           Setback Distance
20Occupied Community            150 feet from the nearest
21Buildings and Dwellings on    point on the outside wall 
22Nonparticipating Properties   of the structure
23Boundary Lines of             None
		SB3488	- 9 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1Participating Property    
2Public Road Rights-of-Way     50 feet from the nearest
3                              edge
4Boundary Lines of             50 feet to the nearest
5Nonparticipating Property     point on the property
6                              line of the nonparticipating
7                              property
8        (4) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so
9    that the facility's perimeter is enclosed by fencing
10    having a height of at least 6 feet and no more than 25
11    feet; and
12        (5) a commercial solar energy facility to be sited so
13    that no component of a solar panel has a height of more
14    than 20 feet above ground when the solar energy facility's
15    arrays are at full tilt.
16    The requirements set forth in this subsection (e) may be
17waived subject to the written consent of the owner of each
18affected nonparticipating property.
19    (f) A county may not set a sound limitation for wind towers
20in commercial wind energy facilities or any components in
21commercial solar energy facilities that is more restrictive
22than the sound limitations established by the Illinois
23Pollution Control Board under 35 Ill. Adm. Code Parts 900,
		SB3488	- 10 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1901, and 910.
2    (g) A county may not place any restriction on the
3installation or use of a commercial wind energy facility or a
4commercial solar energy facility unless it adopts an ordinance
5that complies with this Section. A county may not establish
6siting standards for supporting facilities that preclude
7development of commercial wind energy facilities or commercial
8solar energy facilities.
9    A request for siting approval or a special use permit for a
10commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
11facility, or modification of an approved siting or special use
12permit, shall be approved if the request is in compliance with
13the standards and conditions imposed in this Act, the zoning
14ordinance adopted consistent with this Code, and the
15conditions imposed under State and federal statutes and
16regulations.
17    (h) A county may not adopt zoning regulations that
18disallow, permanently or temporarily, commercial wind energy
19facilities or commercial solar energy facilities from being
20developed or operated in any district zoned to allow
21agricultural or industrial uses.
22    (i) A county may not require permit application fees for a
23commercial wind energy facility or commercial solar energy
24facility that are unreasonable. All application fees imposed
25by the county shall be consistent with fees for projects in the
26county with similar capital value and cost.
		SB3488	- 11 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1    (j) Except as otherwise provided in this Section, a county
2shall not require standards for construction, decommissioning,
3or deconstruction of a commercial wind energy facility or
4commercial solar energy facility or related financial
5assurances that are more restrictive than those included in
6the Department of Agriculture's standard wind farm
7agricultural impact mitigation agreement, template 81818, or
8standard solar agricultural impact mitigation agreement,
9version 8.19.19, as applicable and in effect on December 31,
102022. The amount of any decommissioning payment shall be in
11accordance with the financial assurance required by those
12agricultural impact mitigation agreements.
13    (j-5) A commercial wind energy facility or a commercial
14solar energy facility shall file a farmland drainage plan with
15the county and impacted drainage districts outlining how
16surface and subsurface drainage of farmland will be restored
17during and following construction or deconstruction of the
18facility. The plan is to be created independently by the
19facility developer and shall include the location of any
20potentially impacted drainage district facilities to the
21extent this information is publicly available from the county
22or the drainage district, plans to repair any subsurface
23drainage affected during construction or deconstruction using
24procedures outlined in the agricultural impact mitigation
25agreement entered into by the commercial wind energy facility
26owner or commercial solar energy facility owner, and
		SB3488	- 12 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1procedures for the repair and restoration of surface drainage
2affected during construction or deconstruction. All surface
3and subsurface damage shall be repaired as soon as reasonably
4practicable.
5    (k) A county may not condition approval of a commercial
6wind energy facility or commercial solar energy facility on a
7property value guarantee and may not require a facility owner
8to pay into a neighboring property devaluation escrow account.
9    (l) A county may require certain vegetative screening
10surrounding a commercial wind energy facility or commercial
11solar energy facility but may not require earthen berms or
12similar structures.
13    (m) A county may set blade tip height limitations for wind
14towers in commercial wind energy facilities but may not set a
15blade tip height limitation that is more restrictive than the
16height allowed under a Determination of No Hazard to Air
17Navigation by the Federal Aviation Administration under 14 CFR
18Part 77.
19    (n) A county may require that a commercial wind energy
20facility owner or commercial solar energy facility owner
21provide:
22        (1) the results and recommendations from consultation
23    with the Illinois Department of Natural Resources that are
24    obtained through the Ecological Compliance Assessment Tool
25    (EcoCAT) or a comparable successor tool; and
26        (2) the results of the United States Fish and Wildlife
		SB3488	- 13 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1    Service's Information for Planning and Consulting
2    environmental review or a comparable successor tool that
3    is consistent with (i) the "U.S. Fish and Wildlife
4    Service's Land-Based Wind Energy Guidelines" and (ii) any
5    applicable United States Fish and Wildlife Service solar
6    wildlife guidelines that have been subject to public
7    review.
8    (o) A county may require a commercial wind energy facility
9or commercial solar energy facility to adhere to the
10recommendations provided by the Illinois Department of Natural
11Resources in an EcoCAT natural resource review report under 17
12Ill. Adm. Code Part 1075.
13    (p) A county may require a facility owner to:
14        (1) demonstrate avoidance of protected lands as
15    identified by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources
16    and the Illinois Nature Preserve Commission; or
17        (2) consider the recommendations of the Illinois
18    Department of Natural Resources for setbacks from
19    protected lands, including areas identified by the
20    Illinois Nature Preserve Commission.
21    (q) A county may require that a facility owner provide
22evidence of consultation with the Illinois State Historic
23Preservation Office to assess potential impacts on
24State-registered historic sites under the Illinois State
25Agency Historic Resources Preservation Act.
26    (r) To maximize community benefits, including, but not
		SB3488	- 14 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1limited to, reduced stormwater runoff, flooding, and erosion
2at the ground mounted solar energy system, improved soil
3health, and increased foraging habitat for game birds,
4songbirds, and pollinators, a county may (1) require a
5commercial solar energy facility owner to plant, establish,
6and maintain for the life of the facility vegetative ground
7cover, consistent with the goals of the Pollinator-Friendly
8Solar Site Act and (2) require the submittal of a vegetation
9management plan that is in compliance with the agricultural
10impact mitigation agreement in the application to construct
11and operate a commercial solar energy facility in the county
12if the vegetative ground cover and vegetation management plan
13comply with the requirements of the underlying agreement with
14the landowner or landowners where the facility will be
15constructed.
16    No later than 90 days after January 27, 2023 (the
17effective date of Public Act 102-1123), the Illinois
18Department of Natural Resources shall develop guidelines for
19vegetation management plans that may be required under this
20subsection for commercial solar energy facilities. The
21guidelines must include guidance for short-term and long-term
22property management practices that provide and maintain native
23and non-invasive naturalized perennial vegetation to protect
24the health and well-being of pollinators.
25    (s) If a facility owner enters into a road use agreement
26with the Illinois Department of Transportation, a road
		SB3488	- 15 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1district, or other unit of local government relating to a
2commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
3facility, the road use agreement shall require the facility
4owner to be responsible for (i) the reasonable cost of
5improving roads used by the facility owner to construct the
6commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy
7facility and (ii) the reasonable cost of repairing roads used
8by the facility owner during construction of the commercial
9wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
10so that those roads are in a condition that is safe for the
11driving public after the completion of the facility's
12construction. Roadways improved in preparation for and during
13the construction of the commercial wind energy facility or
14commercial solar energy facility shall be repaired and
15restored to the improved condition at the reasonable cost of
16the developer if the roadways have degraded or were damaged as
17a result of construction-related activities.
18    The road use agreement shall not require the facility
19owner to pay costs, fees, or charges for road work that is not
20specifically and uniquely attributable to the construction of
21the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar
22energy facility. Road-related fees, permit fees, or other
23charges imposed by the Illinois Department of Transportation,
24a road district, or other unit of local government under a road
25use agreement with the facility owner shall be reasonably
26related to the cost of administration of the road use
		SB3488	- 16 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1agreement.
2    (s-5) The facility owner shall also compensate landowners
3for crop losses or other agricultural damages resulting from
4damage to the drainage system caused by the construction of
5the commercial wind energy facility or the commercial solar
6energy facility. The commercial wind energy facility owner or
7commercial solar energy facility owner shall repair or pay for
8the repair of all damage to the subsurface drainage system
9caused by the construction of the commercial wind energy
10facility or the commercial solar energy facility in accordance
11with the agriculture impact mitigation agreement requirements
12for repair of drainage. The commercial wind energy facility
13owner or commercial solar energy facility owner shall repair
14or pay for the repair and restoration of surface drainage
15caused by the construction or deconstruction of the commercial
16wind energy facility or the commercial solar energy facility
17as soon as reasonably practicable.
18    (s-10) The facility owner shall also compensate landowners 
19in full if the facility adversely affects the flow of water 
20within the landowner's land, land adjoining landowner's land, 
21or drainage district land, including, but not limited to, by 
22affecting a drainage tile. The compensation shall be 
23determined by the Department of Agriculture.
24    (t) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a facility
25owner with siting approval from a county to construct a
26commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar energy
		SB3488	- 17 -	LRB104 20529 RTM 34003 b
1facility is authorized to cross or impact a drainage system,
2including, but not limited to, drainage tiles, open drainage
3ditches, culverts, and water gathering vaults, owned or under
4the control of a drainage district under the Illinois Drainage
5Code without obtaining prior agreement or approval from the
6drainage district in accordance with the farmland drainage
7plan required by subsection (j-5).
8    (u) The amendments to this Section adopted in Public Act
9102-1123 do not apply to: (1) an application for siting
10approval or for a special use permit for a commercial wind
11energy facility or commercial solar energy facility if the
12application was submitted to a unit of local government before
13January 27, 2023 (the effective date of Public Act 102-1123);
14(2) a commercial wind energy facility or a commercial solar
15energy facility if the facility owner has submitted an
16agricultural impact mitigation agreement to the Department of
17Agriculture before January 27, 2023 (the effective date of
18Public Act 102-1123); or (3) a commercial wind energy or
19commercial solar energy development on property that is
20located within an enterprise zone certified under the Illinois
21Enterprise Zone Act, that was classified as industrial by the
22appropriate zoning authority on or before January 27, 2023,
23and that is located within 4 miles of the intersection of
24Interstate 88 and Interstate 39.
25(Source: P.A. 102-1123, eff. 1-27-23; 103-81, eff. 6-9-23;
26103-580, eff. 12-8-23; revised 7-29-24.)