Protesters support Lee's decision against turbines

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A wind turbine stands in the background as anti-wind farm protesters stand on the corner of County Line Road and Lee Road in Lee, Ill., on Saturday Oct. 24, 2009. (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, in classic Don Quixote style.

Kapraun, of Lee, was one of about 30 people who were protesting Saturday about a wind farm company's desire to build six turbines in the village's jurisdiction, despite village leaders denying the developer's application.

FPL Energy Illinois Wind LLC filed a lawsuit in September against the village, claiming the Lee Village Board improperly denied the company’s 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 this lawsuit are part of a 151-turbine wind farm that straddles the DeKalb-Lee 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 citizen's group that has filed a different legal action that is pending. Citizens for Open Government filed a lawsuit in July, claiming the DeKalb County Board improperly granted construction permits and is seeking a halt to the project.

Mel Hass, chairman of Citizens for Open Government, said that the reason for Saturday's protest was because FPL is "contradicting themselves."

Hass said that last fall, he asked company representatives how they will determine where turbines will go, in which he 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 is holding 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.

Though FPL representatives claim that the application to construct wind turbines met the ordinance requirements in Lee, those opposed say that village officials have a right to represent their citizenry.

"They need to listen when no means no," said Priscilla Kapraun, Tom's wife.

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