McHenry County Board Approves Solar Farms Near Crystal Lake — Under Protest

"What I hold in contempt is the state of Illinois," one McHenry County board member said this week — right before voting yes anyway. Welcome to local zoning in 2026, where the county board can grumble all it wants and still has to sign on the dotted line.

The McHenry County Board approved two utility-scale solar projects — the Crystal Lake Solar project near Crystal Lake and the Railway Solar project near Union — but not because the board wanted to. A court order tied to state siting authority effectively forced the vote, and several members, including representatives from Huntley, Island Lake, and Woodstock districts, made it clear on the record they felt their local say had been steamrolled by Springfield.

What the board actually approved

Two large solar developments now have the green light to move forward on land near Crystal Lake and Union. This is part of a broader statewide trend where Illinois has been asserting more authority over renewable energy siting, limiting how much individual county boards can block or reshape these projects even when local officials object. Whatever your feelings on solar, the bigger story here is a shift in who controls what gets built on land near you — and that shift didn't originate at the county level.

The local pushback

The board members' frustration wasn't really about solar power itself — it was about process. "My vote has been co-opted" is a pretty blunt way to describe feeling like a rubber stamp on a decision that was functionally made somewhere else. Expect this tension between state renewable-energy mandates and local land-use control to keep surfacing across McHenry County as more of these projects work through the pipeline.

Why this matters if you own or are buying nearby

Large solar installations change the character of the land around them — for neighboring property owners, that can mean anything from "no real impact" to real questions about future subdivision plans, sightlines, and how adjacent parcels get valued down the road. If you own land near Crystal Lake or Union, or you're house hunting in that stretch of the county, it's worth asking your agent (hi, that's me) what's been approved nearby before you fall in love with a lot. Knowing what's coming next door beats finding out after closing.

Local control is having a rough year. I'll keep you posted on where these projects actually break ground.