Letter to Editor: Proposed Wind Farm

 

Farewell to Belvidere Township’s Assessor

Tuesday, December 31st will be my last day in office as
Belvidere Township Assessor. It has been a great
experience, and I am very proud of everything I was able
to accomplish.

If you can, please stop by my office on Monday,
December 30th between 9 AM - 2 PM for a last
farewell and enjoy some light refreshments along with my
best wishes to you for the Christmas holiday and coming
New Year!

Diann Helnore - Belvidere Township Assessor

Boone County to vote on wind energy Jan. 15 - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

County Board members have not been exempt from the hostility.

A letter sent from unnamed "Concerned & Fed-up Residents of Boone County" to board members in December warned them that members will be held personally and legally responsible if they vote in favor of putting a wind farm in a rural setting.

"If any of the board members in favor of these projects are under the delusion that their life as (they) know it will not be personally affected, they are dead WRONG. A futile legal battle will be fought to the bitter end," the letter stated.

Click on the following for more details:  Boone County to vote on wind energy Jan. 15 - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

The Government Is Quietly Giving Way More Housing Aid to Rich People Than Poor People - Yahoo Finance

 

The federal government gave out about $60 billion in housing benefits to renters in 2012. It gave out more than three times that much to homeowners. Low-income households receive the vast majority of that rental aid, but the opposite is true of aid to homeowners. That flows primarily to high-income households.

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Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

This comes at a time when renters are struggling to keep pace with rising housing costs . Fifty percent of renters now spend more than 30% of their income on housing. This has forced renters to cut back on other household necessities or live in inadequate units.

 

Renters are more likely to face a severe cost burden (defined as spending at least 50% of income on housing) than homeowners are. This is a result of rising median gross rent and falling media income over the past 15 years.

The Government Is Quietly Giving Way More Housing Aid to Rich People Than Poor People - Yahoo Finance

These businesses want the largest declines in property assessments in Winnebago and Boone counties - Blogs - Rockford Register Star

 

Boone County
1. Northwest Bank of Rockford wants to lower the value of 65 lots in Deer Hills subdivision in Belvidere from $3.3 million to $520,000.
2. Inland American/Belvidere Atlas LLC, which was set up by the massive Inland American real estate investment trust, wants to lower its Americold Logistics warehouse at 6765 Imron Drive, Belvidere, from $10.4 million to $8.6 million.
3. The Green Giant Co. wants its General Mills plant's value decreased from $5.3 million to $3.7 million.
This is a major issue for everyone in the Rock River Valley. The way the tax system is set up if these large property owners are granted these decreases it will RAISE the taxes on the surrounding property owners.
Taxing bodies set their levies — or how much money they want from property owners. The assessment creates the pie. When one property owner lowers his portion of the pie through a property assessment appeal the portion of the pie increases for the other property owners who pay to those taxing bodies

Click on the following for more details:   These businesses want the largest declines in property assessments in Winnebago and Boone counties - Blogs - Rockford Register Star

Letter to Editor: The effects of wind energy production tax credit ending - Opinion - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

Posted Dec. 17, 2013 @ 1:00 pm

Every time that subsidies for wind energy have ceased, the industry went into a tailspin. The industry had a near-miss this year because the wind energy production tax credit almost died.

The PTC may die at the end of this year. If it does, any project in Boone County will not receive the subsidy. Wind energy receives a subsidy that is worth approximately 88 times as much as conventional sources receive. To quote someone else: "no form of fossil generation has a production-related subsidy. Rather, tax credits granted fossil fuels are akin to those available to any industry involved in mining and mineral extraction. The generation side does not receive any subsidy."

The current setback in Boone County is 1,000 feet from primary structures. That is wholly inadequate compared to increasingly larger setbacks in Illinois counties that already have wind turbines. Last year, Bureau County rejected more wind turbines. The company that proposed those wind turbines is the same company that wants to site wind turbines in Boone County.

Wisconsin State Senator Frank Lasee recently testified that new wind turbine heights may exceed 700 feet. A Wisconsin resident testified that one company switched out shorter with taller wind turbines to get around the setback.

— Aaron Funfsinn, Durand

Letter: The effects of wind energy production tax credit ending - Opinion - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

No confidence vote on Boone County chairman fails - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL

 

BELVIDERE - An effort to discredit the leader of the Boone County Board failed Wednesday with the majority of board members saying they approve of Chairman Bob Walberg's leadership.

Members Bill Pysson, Cathy Ward, Marion Thornberry and Kenny Freeman attempted to convince the board to deliver a vote of no confidence, arguing that Walberg chooses not to disclose information about individuals applying for board appointments, avoids placing women in leadership roles and changes board members' committee assignments to further his personal agenda. The measure failed 4-8.

Walberg, who has chaired the board for six years, said county code gives the chairman two jobs: run the meetings and appoint individuals to committee assignments. He said he places people where he believes they will best help the county.

"(I'm) embarrassed for the board that our members would jump to this tactic when there are so many other ways to solve these issues," Walberg said.

Even if the majority of the board had delivered a vote of no confidence, it would not have had a direct impact on Walberg's chairmanship, which ends Dec. 1, 2014. Boone County State's Attorney Michelle Courier said the gesture does not have a legal effect.

Board member Brad Fidder, who is not seeking re-election, said he encourages others who are unhappy with Walberg's decisions to speak with the chairman one-on-one.

"This is nonsense. We need to be past this. We have much more important things to do beyond this," Fidder said.

Jennifer Wheeler

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