Wind farm protesters rally in Lee
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| A wind turbine stands in the background as wind farm protesters rally on Saturday at the corner of County Line and Lee roads in Lee. (Beck Diefenbach/bdiefenbach@daily-chronicle.com) |
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LEE – Dressed in warrior robes and helmet, Tom Kapraun raised his staff to the east.
He was “tilting at windmills,” he said Saturday, in classic Don Quixote style.
Kapraun, of Lee, was one of about 30 people who protested a wind farm company’s plan to build six turbines in the village’s jurisdiction, despite village leaders denying the developer’s application.
FPL Energy Illinois Wind LLC sued the village in September, claiming the Lee Village Board improperly denied its application for permits to build six wind turbines.
The turbines would not be within village limits, but they fall within the village’s jurisdiction, according to state law.
“They want to put windmills around Lee because it’s a gold mine to them, but it’s home to us,” Kapraun said.
The six turbines involved in the lawsuit are part of a 151-turbine wind farm that straddles the Lee-DeKalb county line.
Turbines are under construction, and NextEra Energy Resources, a subsidiary of FPL, hopes to have them operational by the end of the year.
Kapraun and other Lee residents were joined at the protest – held at the intersection of County Line and Lee road, across the street from the wind farm’s temporary headquarters – by a citizens group that has filed a different legal action that also is pending.
Citizens for Open Government filed suit in July, claiming the DeKalb County Board improperly granted construction permits and seeking a halt to the project.
Mel Hass, chairman of Citizens for Open Government, said Saturday’s protest was called because FPL is “contradicting themselves.”
Last fall, Hass said, he asked company representatives how they will determine where turbines will go, and was told it would be up to the elected officials.
The Lee Village Board unanimously rejected FPL’s application in August, and Hass believes that’s where the decision should have rested.
The village board was to hold an executive session Sunday night “to consider recent information that FPL has given to us,” trustee John Montgomery said.
Montgomery is neutral, he said, but stopped by the protest because he was at the post office next door and wanted to visit with people he knew.
“The constituents see advantages and disadvantages, and as a representative of the constituents, I do my homework,” he said. Although FPL representatives say the application to construct wind turbines met the ordinance requirements in Lee, those opposed say village officials have a right to represent their citizenry.
“They need to listen when no means no,” said Priscilla Kapraun, Tom’s wife.
