City Lake | Franklin & Williamson Counties
Engagement Strategy
Franklin and Williamson County, Illinois, seem to be a community at a crossroads of the identity they have of themselves as coal country and the identity they need as an energy leader. The passage of the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (CEJA), if implemented as is, will all but eliminate the coal industry.
The job loss issue is more of an illusion than a reality; Illinois is the home of 3K coal jobs. Environmental regulations and automation of the coal industry have shrunk the size of the workforce.
The main opposition will be political figures loyal to coal and the work of the coal industry as part of a fight for their existence in Illinois.This outlines a plan that covers the following six areas:
The job loss issue is more of an illusion than a reality; Illinois is the home of 3K coal jobs. Environmental regulations and automation of the coal industry have shrunk the size of the workforce.
The main opposition will be political figures loyal to coal and the work of the coal industry as part of a fight for their existence in Illinois.This outlines a plan that covers the following six areas:
- Phase I: Initial Stakeholder Outreach
- Phase II: Outreach to Decision Maker
- Phase III: Expansion of Stakeholder Outreach
Goals:
- Connect with landowners and get the lay of the land from their perspective.
- Connect with local economic development leaders and school superintendents.
- Get intel on other potential allies in the counties.
Action:
- Have one-on-one meetings with landowners to build relationships with them, hear any concerns they, and use them to get a pulse on community sentiment.
- Reach out to the local chambers and school superintendents to start the conversation early on how we can be a benefit to the community.
- Build out a list of other potential important community members to reach out to early.
Instead of heading straight to decision makers with no leverage, it is essential to walk in the door with at least the beginning of community support. While representatives at the State House and Senate don’t have the final say on a county’s projects, they can slow down or stop a process through that-level legislation or influence the face of local officials.
Talking with these stakeholders before decision-makers will accomplish the following three things.
Talking with these stakeholders before decision-makers will accomplish the following three things.
- Allow you to come into conversations with the counties better prepared by knowing what has been happening on the ground regarding clean energy over the last few years.
- Build relationships early that we can leverage as the project moves forward.
- Allow for collaboration opportunities that could help us integrate into the community.
Actions:
- Set a meeting with Franklin and Williamson County Assessors
- Start applications for development in both counties
- Set appointments with other decision-makers in the development process.
Because of the legislation, local officials could be friendly to solar farms. Still, because of the reaction of State level leadership and the history of coal in the area, a cautious approach is best. Add because you need to engage in two counties. The action plan is a meeting with both first-level approvers from both counties.
From your conversations with the nonprofits, you will better understand the individual personalities and priorities of the approvers in both counties.
Your initial conversations should accomplish there following:
From your conversations with the nonprofits, you will better understand the individual personalities and priorities of the approvers in both counties.
Your initial conversations should accomplish there following:
- Find commonalities in the needs of both counties
- What City Lake intends to bring to the community
- Feel out for any red flags from the conversation
The outcome of the conversations with the Assessors should let you know the following three things:
- How well will these counties work together, and if your approach should be to keep conversations together or have them separately.
- Have a better understanding of timelines for approvals
- What kind of institutional roadblocks currently exist or could be down the road
Phases II and III will be almost simultaneous. The first meeting with the assessors should trigger phase three. The outreach from phase one should help move this work faster by establishing relationships with nonprofits and some county officials.
In this phase focus will be on more institutional outreach.
In this phase focus will be on more institutional outreach.
Goal:
- Continue to gain support from qualifiers and trusted members of the community.
Actions:
- Set meetings with Elected Officials, Chamber of Commerce members, school boards and PTAs, non-profits, and the faith community.
Target Groups:
Elected Officials
County Board: The County has a long history with coal; affirm and redirect if they bring coal up. Begin your outreach with the Chair. Since they aren’t the official decision-makers, you want to either gain or neutralize their influence on the project.
Example: The coal industry has a rich history in Franklin County and has helped support its citizens. Solar energy is an ever-expanding source of jobs and community growth supported by the current state legislation. Here is how we can work together.
County Chambers of Commerce Members
The focus of these meetings should be on fiscal growth and economic development.
K-12 Schools
Conversations should focus on tax revenue and partnership. What programs could City Lake support? You could work to develop a cross-county plan for creating college and career-ready students in the solar field.
Faith
A good place to start would be Pastor Wade Halva. Halva publicly supports solar expansion, and church support in rural areas could be an enormous help. He could connect a network of clergy for support.
Conversations with him and other faith groups should accomplish the two following things:
County Board: The County has a long history with coal; affirm and redirect if they bring coal up. Begin your outreach with the Chair. Since they aren’t the official decision-makers, you want to either gain or neutralize their influence on the project.
Example: The coal industry has a rich history in Franklin County and has helped support its citizens. Solar energy is an ever-expanding source of jobs and community growth supported by the current state legislation. Here is how we can work together.
County Chambers of Commerce Members
The focus of these meetings should be on fiscal growth and economic development.
K-12 Schools
Conversations should focus on tax revenue and partnership. What programs could City Lake support? You could work to develop a cross-county plan for creating college and career-ready students in the solar field.
Faith
A good place to start would be Pastor Wade Halva. Halva publicly supports solar expansion, and church support in rural areas could be an enormous help. He could connect a network of clergy for support.
Conversations with him and other faith groups should accomplish the two following things:
- Have trusted messengers give support to the project
- One or more events that can publicly show their support are planned; this could also be part of already scheduled events like fairs or festivals.
Opposition to Monitor:
The most organized opposition to this project could come from its elected officials. They have made very public stances against CEJA and could fight their home turf moving on it.
Dale Fowler, State Senator, voted against the bill that passed the IL Senate carbon-free and nearly eliminated coal and gas-powered electric plants.
Dave Severin, State House, has proposed a bill that would repeal the part of the energy bill that would eliminate coal gas-powdered plants.
One inroad with Severin is that he publicly stated he was for “all of the above” and wasn't against solar. A conversation with his office could prove effective after you have some support from institutions or other officials.We have found no other currently organized opposition. But to stay in front of community opposition, starting a series of community forums with supporters in the audience could avoid problems down the road.
Dale Fowler, State Senator, voted against the bill that passed the IL Senate carbon-free and nearly eliminated coal and gas-powered electric plants.
Dave Severin, State House, has proposed a bill that would repeal the part of the energy bill that would eliminate coal gas-powdered plants.
One inroad with Severin is that he publicly stated he was for “all of the above” and wasn't against solar. A conversation with his office could prove effective after you have some support from institutions or other officials.We have found no other currently organized opposition. But to stay in front of community opposition, starting a series of community forums with supporters in the audience could avoid problems down the road.
Calls to Action:
We should implement a campaign with escalating action to avoid roadblocks created by the opposition. Tactics that we can employ can include, but are not limited to:
- Facebook and social media to identify additional pro-clean energy supporters within the County.
- Sign-on letters and Op-Eds
- Phone calls of support to county officials.
- Email blasts to county officials
- Press Conferences
- Recruitment of supporters to attend the planning commission hearing if the project goes to a vote. In addition, they will encourage supporters to sign up for public comment.
Final Thoughts and Follow-up:
The legislation calling for carbon-free energy in Illinois provides inroads for Vesper in Southern Illinois. To create a sense of urgency around this opportunity and gain the population’s support, focus on how they can be ahead of the curve with solar projects or wait while other counties come on board.
The public engagement strategy for Franklin and Williamson Counties will continue to grow as the project develops and more profound knowledge of the stakeholders on the ground increases. Therefore, the Engagement Strategy will shape and run parallel with all the development. Bantam is committed to providing up-to-date information that will change and grow the strategy based on project timelines and any new information presented.
The public engagement strategy for Franklin and Williamson Counties will continue to grow as the project develops and more profound knowledge of the stakeholders on the ground increases. Therefore, the Engagement Strategy will shape and run parallel with all the development. Bantam is committed to providing up-to-date information that will change and grow the strategy based on project timelines and any new information presented.
