Farm owner Ruby Roemer (left) of Green Garden Township sits down after speaking out in support of having the option to lease her land for solar energy at the Will County Board meeting in the Will County Office Building in Joliet on Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Bob Okon)
The Will County Board on Thursday approved a 6,100-acre solar complex, but the heated battle over the plan is not over yet.
Earthrise Energy plans to begin construction of the project in early 2027, while opponents plan to file a lawsuit to stop the project and challenge the constitutionality of state law that takes away local control over where solar farms can be built.
Called Pride of the Prairie by Earthrise, the solar complex is the biggest yet to be approved in Will County. It will spread over 96 different properties in Manhattan, Green Garden and Wilton Townships.
Earthrise, in a news release issued after the approval, said the project will lead to 1,000 new jobs, including construction work, and $3.5 million in new tax revenue in the first year of operation.
People living closest to the project spoke out against it on Thursday as they have at several previous public meetings.
Tim Shanahan of Manhattan Township speaks against the Pride of the Prairie solar project at the Will County Board meeting in the Will County Office Building in Joliet on Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Bob Okon)
Tim Shanahan of Manhattan Township described the project as a “solar invasion of 6,000 acres.”
The project is expected to take up 25% of the farmland in Green Garden Township, leading to what several residents described as the loss of their rural way of life.
The County Board’s vote for the plan was 12-8 and broke down as expected along party lines, with one exception.
Mark Revis, R-Plainfield, was the one Republican to vote for the project, saying he did so out of respect for property rights as well as the jobs and tax revenue the project would produce.
Two Republicans, David Oxley of Lockport and Raquel Mitchell of Bolingbrook, were not there for the vote.
All Democrats voted for the solar project, even though only one spoke in favor of it.
Opponents of the Pride of the Prairie solar project hold up signs at the Will County Board meeting in the Will County Office Building in Joliet on Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Bob Okon)
Even the support from Member Jacqueline Traynere, D-Bolingbrook, appeared half-hearted.
“I’m asking a painful question: What’s the alternative?” Traynere said, alluding to the possibility that the land could be developed for more objectionable uses.
She noted the land could be returned to agriculture after the Pride of the Prairie’s expected 30-year lifespan.
“Springfield is tightening the noose,” Traynere said in reference to pending legislation that would take away even more local say-so on renewable energy projects.
Will County Board Member Jacqueline Traynere, D-Bolingbrook, (center) spoke in favor of the Pride of the Prairie solar project at the Will County Board meeting in the Will County Office Building on Thursday, May 21, 2026. (Bob Okon)
Some Republicans urged the board to challenge the state law granting special privileges to solar developers by voting down the Pride of the Prairie plan.
“Don’t be intimidated by state legislators who don’t know where Green Garden or Manhattan are on an Illinois map,” said Member Frankie Pretzel, R-New Lenox.
Republican Leader Jim Richmond, R-Mokena, said Will County rejecting a project so big could get the attention of state legislators and spark a change in the law.
“The problem with this project is it’s 6,000 acres,” Richmond said. “From what I’m able to find out, the next largest project in Illinois is 4,000 acres.”
The County Board’s vote is likely to lead to a challenge of the state law anyway.
Supporters of the Pride of the Prairie solar project hold up signs at the Will County Board meeting on Thursday at the Will County Office Building in Joliet. May 21, 2026. (Bob Okon)
Attorney Steven Becker, who represents 16 neighbors of the future Pride of the Prairie solar complex, said he will file a lawsuit to challenge the County Board vote and the constitutionality of the state law forcing counties to approve solar projects on agricultural land.
“You’re going to be sued either way,” Becker told the board. “My clients will sue you if you pass it. Earthrise is likely to sue you if you don’t.”
Solar developers have been successful in court.
The County Board in April approved six solar projects it previously denied after being ordered to do so by a Will County judge. The judge’s order followed a lawsuit by solar developers arguing the County Board had no authority to block their plans because of the state law.
That law, initiated by Gov. JB Pritzker and enacted by a Democratic legislature, is aimed at encouraging the development of renewable energy by taking away local authority to control where solar and wind farms can be located.
The law has spurred a boom in solar projects, with more than 50 having been approved in recent years in Will County alone.
It also has led to objections from homeowners forced to live next to or, in some cases, surrounded by land loaded with solar panels.
Several farmers have backed the Pride of the Prairie plan, saying solar energy gives them an option for farmland that is becoming increasingly unprofitable.
“We’re struggling,” said Green Garden Township farmer Ruby Roemer, who will lease land for the Pride of the Prairie project. “We’re down to a couple of options. One is a solar farm. One is to sell our farm for housing.”
Supporters of the Pride of the Prairie project included advocates for renewable energy and leaders in construction unions.
James Connolly, business manager for the Chicago Laborers’ District Council, issued a statement after the vote calling it “a win for the working men and women of Will County and for the future of our region’s energy infrastructure.”
Bob Okon covers local government for The Herald-News

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