Winds of change are blowing in the (Chicago) suburbs

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-windpower_13apr13,1,676231.story

Winds of change are blowing in the suburbs

More homeowners look at turbines for electricity

By Joel Hood | Tribune reporter
April 13, 2008

Joel Lee doesn't consider himself an environmental maverick. He doesn't collect rainwater for bathing or drive a car powered by cooking grease.

He's just an ordinary guy who has grown tired of the amount of money he forks over to heat his showers, light his bedroom and cool his home. So for the last year, Lee has been pressing officials in Will County to let him erect a 70-foot-tall wind turbine on the 10 acres that surround his ranch home near Peotone.

It's a fight that has Lee among a growing number of homeowners in Illinois who are looking to the wind, and not the sun, to realize their dreams of energy independence.

Chicago officials amended their ordinance in 2005 to allow for wind turbines—up to 15 feet tall—now scattered on the rooftops of homes and businesses. Today, the issue is taking shape in suburbs and rural areas as lawmakers consider ordinances that will pave the way for homeowners to harness the power of the wind.

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[frogcycle]

1. well, it IS, after all, the Windy City