WRITE TO OUR FAYETTE
COUNTY BOARD MEMBERS

Why it matters

That $5,000 check for a road easement doesn’t sound so good when the value of your house drops by $48,000, your hay field is contaminated with fiberglass, and your wife can’t sleep due to turbine noise.

These aren’t exaggerations. These are things that have actually happened.

A lot of people in Fayette County still don’t know that any day now, they could end up surrounded by 300 acres of glaring solar panels, instead of 300 acres of beautiful corn. They still don’t know that colossal, 60-story turbines may soon loom over their home, bringing sleepless nights, headaches, and noise pollution that sounds like a “low-flying corporate jet” “mixed with the sound of a Chinook helicopter.”

We need to PAUSE these utility-scale industrial wind and solar installations until everyone in Fayette County knows what’s happening and what’s at stake.

These aren’t decisions that should be made by a small handful of landowners. We need full community involvement.

Example letters

Feel free to use these example letters directly, copy paragraphs, edit or trim them, mix-and-match, use them for inspiration, or write something entirely different.

Short & sweet

  • Dear [Fayette County Board member name]:

    I am writing to you with great respect and concern as you consider future approvals and permits for utility-scale wind and solar installations in our county. I urge you to press pause on these projects until our community has had a real chance to fully understand the health and quality-of-life consequences they bring.

    Fayette County residents and voters deserve to know—ahead of time, when there’s still a chance to speak up—that these industrial complexes could affect their health, sleep, peace and quiet, and ability to concentrate in their own home.

    Watch this video and imagine a kid trying to do math homework at the dinner table: https://youtu.be/_XCA0_W9Qxs?t=84

    This isn’t just a simple land use decision. It’s something that will affect our families, communities, landscapes, and way of life for the next 50 years.

    Thank you for your thoughtful service to our county.

    Sincerely,

    [Your Name]

  • Dear [Fayette County Board Member name]:

    I’m reaching out today to ask you to halt or delay any new permits for industrial wind and solar installations until our local farmers and landowners have had a fair chance to understand what’s at stake.

    And I want you to know, I oppose this level of industrialization.

    The land around here isn’t just dirt—it's our family's livelihood, our children's inheritance, and a way of life that's been handed down for generations. Heavy construction, road building, concrete pads, and maintenance traffic will change our farmland forever. Once those turbines and solar panels go up, the land beneath them will never be the same. 

    We’re being sold a bill of goods that doesn't show the wear and tear these projects leave behind.

    Before we allow our land to be carved up, local residents need time to learn the whole story—not just the version the wind companies want to tell.

    Thank you for listening,

    [Your Name]

  • Dear [Fayette County Board member name]:

    I'm writing with deep concern as a fellow resident who cares about Fayette County’s future. 

    I respectfully ask you to put a hold on any new wind and solar farm approvals until our community can get a better understanding of the long-term impacts. I’ve learned that many of my friends and neighbors have no idea this is happening, much less the scale, impact, and true nature of what’s planned.

    Wind turbines don’t just change the skyline—they change our communities. 

    Solar farms don’t just change what we’re harvesting—they change farmland into an inhuman, soulless industrial landscape.

    We need time to come together, learn the facts, and make decisions based on truth, not just promises.

    Please stand with the people you represent. Press PAUSE on these projects to give us the breathing room to protect our communities, our rural way of life, and the legacy we leave to our grandchildren.

    With respect and hope,

    [Your Name]

  • Dear [Fayette County Board member name]:

    I want you to know how strongly I oppose the rapid industrialization happening in Fayette County. These enormous wind and solar installations will change our countryside and way of life forever.

    Please do everything in your power to halt this take-over of Illinois farmland and countrysides by corporate and foreign interests.

    God created neither solar panels nor wind turbines, and this is no way to caretake the land and bounty we have been given.

    Sincerely,

    [Your Name]

  • Dear [Fayette County Board Member]:

    A lot of people in Fayette County still don’t know that, any day now, they could end up surrounded by 300 acres of solar panels, instead of 300 acres of beautiful corn. Or that colossal, 60-story turbines may soon loom over their home, bringing sleepless nights, headaches, and industrial noise they cannot escape.

    When are homes are no longer places we can sleep, relax, read, work, and pray in peace, what have we become?

    We need to pause these utility-scale industrial wind and solar installations until everyone in Fayette County knows what’s happening and what’s at stake.

    I’m asking you to halt permitting and approvals until the Fayette County community has been informed about the magnitude of these plans and what they will mean for our homes, families, neighbors, farms, communities, way of life, and generations to come.

    Thank you for your consideration,

    [Your Name]

Longer, with more meat

  • Dear [Fayette County Board Member]:

    I’ve been looking into what these wind and solar farms are going to mean for Fayette County, and I’m really concerned. I don’t think most folks understand the harm and unhappiness they may bring.

    I’ve watched first-hand video testimony and read true stories of families forced out of their homes due to sleep deprivation, headaches, and constant noise. Good, hard-working folks were called liars and complainers when they tried to raise the alarm.

    The reality is, not everyone is affected the same way, just like not everyone has the same allergies. But those who are affected suffer greatly.

    I urge you to watch Ted Hartke’s 2024 presentation in Brimfield, Illinois, to a Peoria County community group. Mr. Hartke started out skeptical the wind turbines would cause any problems and ended up being driven from his home by health and sleep impacts that affected his kids, parenting, marriage, and job.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBTEcR2N1HM&t=94s

    Please, before any concrete is poured, give the people you serve time to get educated on what these turbines might truly mean for our daily lives. We owe it to our neighbors, our elders, and our future generations to be sure we are not trading away our peace and health for promises on a sales brochure.

    Thank you for your thoughtful service to our county.

    Sincerely,

    [Your Name]

  • Dear [Fayette County Board member]:

    Local farmers, residents, landowners, and neighbors need a fair chance to understand what’s at stake with these wind and solar farms that are growing like weeds in Fayette County.

    Do farmers know 200 acres of neighboring farmland could be contaminated with fiberglass, if a wind turbine self destructs after a lightning fire?

    Do they know wind turbine gearbox oil/lubricant leaks are common and contaminate surrounding soil and water sources?

    Do people realize they could end up with a concrete batch plant 500 yards from their home for the next 10 years?

    Do they know their property values are about to drop 25-50%?

    A Wisconsin farmer I read about, Gary Steinich, said this about the wind contract he signed, “Nothing was the way we thought it was going to be. We didn't know how much land would be taken out of production by the access roads alone. And we didn't understand how much the wind company could do to our land because of what was in the contract.”

    Here is his story for you to read: https://tinyurl.com/windfarm-regrets

    We’re being sold a bill of goods that doesn't show the wear and tear these projects leave behind. Before we allow our land to be carved up, we need time to learn the whole story—not just the version the wind companies want to tell.

    I’m asking you to call a public community meeting to discuss what’s happening with wind and solar in Fayette County. Not a meeting that’s just an excuse for wind and solar companies to give a sales pitch, like a timeshare in the Bahamas. An honest to goodness community meeting for county residents.

    Please stand with us to protect our farms, our future, and our freedom to choose what happens to our land.

    Thank you for listening,

    [Your Name]

  • Dear [Fayette County Board member]:

    Nowhere in the United States is community more important than in the Heartland.

    Wind turbines don’t just change the skyline—they change our communities. 

    Solar farms don’t just change what we’re harvesting—they change farmland into an inhuman, soulless industrial landscape.

    These industrial compounds pit neighbor against neighbor, and once the land is leased and the towers are up, the damage is done. Families who thought they were investing in a quiet country life are stuck with a noisy, blinking industrial zone. It's not what we bargained for.

    Our children and grandchildren will either thank us or wonder why we let outsiders come in and turn our home into something unrecognizable.

    Please read this article, by a Wisconsin farmer, about how a wind company’s predatory business practices tore the very fabric of his community:

    http://betterplan.squarespace.com/wisconsin-farmer-regrets-sayin/

    He said, “We had a peaceful community here before the developer showed up, but no more. Now it’s neighbor against neighbor, family members not speaking to one another and there is no ease in conversation like in the old days. Everyone is afraid to talk for fear the subject of the wind turbines will come up. The kind of life we enjoyed in our community is gone forever.”

    Residents of Fayette County need time to come together, learn the facts, and make decisions based on truth, not just promises.

    I respectfully ask you to put a hold on any new wind and solar farm approvals until our community can get a better understanding of the long-term impacts. I’ve learned that many of my friends and neighbors have no idea this is happening, much less the enormous scale of what’s planned.

    Please stand with the people you represent and give us the breathing room to protect our communities and our legacy.

    With respect and hope,

    [Your Name]

  • Dear [Fayette County Board member name]:

    I want you to know how strongly I oppose the rapid industrialization of Fayette County. These utility-scale wind and solar installations will change our countryside and way of life forever.

    I ask you to read this testimony by Larry Wunsch to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin, regarding the industrial wind complex built around his home:

    https://apps.psc.wi.gov/ERF/ERFview/viewdoc.aspx?docid=171179

    He comments, “The wind farm changed the feeling at our house from the countryside setting to an industrial park atmosphere. I couldn’t get away from it. If it wasn’t the sound, it was the sight. At night when I couldn’t see the turbines, I saw the flashing red lights that reminded me that they were there. We called it the Pinwheel Junkyard.”

    Please do everything in your power to halt this take-over of Illinois farmland and countrysides by technology monstrosities, absentee corporations, and foreign interests.

    God created neither solar panels nor wind turbines, and this is no way to caretake the land and bounty we have been given.

    Sincerely,

    [Your Name]

  • Dear [Fayette County Board Member]:

    A $5,000 check for a road easement doesn’t sound so good when the value of your house drops by $48,000, your hay field is contaminated with fiberglass, and your wife can’t sleep due to turbine noise.

    These aren’t exaggerations. These are things that have actually happened.

    These utility-scale industrial wind and solar complexes will have far-reaching, multi-generational, and unintended consequences.

    I oppose them. And I’m asking you to suspend permitting and approvals until residents of Fayette County are fully informed and aware of what’s happening.

    These aren’t decisions that should be made by a small handful of landowners. We need full community involvement.

    Please take action to inform and engage all Fayette County residents in this process.

    Thank you and best regards,

    [Your Name]

    __________________

    REFERENCES

    https://www.maine.gov/dacf/lupc/projects/windpower/transcanada/Public_Hearing/PostHearing/FBM_post-hearing%20comments/FBM_PostHearingComments.pdf

    https://bucoa.org/2023/08/02/four-months-later-new-york-hay-farm-is-still-unusable/

    https://docs.wind-watch.org/turbine-update-3-31-9.pdf

  • Dear [Fayette County Board Member]: 

    I ask you to watch this short news video about an Iowa farmer, who in 18 months had three wind turbines catch on fire at different times, all due to lightning strikes:

    https://www.kcrg.com/video/2024/08/17/wind-turbine-fire-mechanicsville-could-cost-farmer-millions/

    The demolition and later clean-up effort by the wind company subcontractor was an absolute joke.

    For the fiberglass contaminating their corn fields, they sent 3 people with shopvacs to spend 3 days vacuuming 20 acres of land, leaving the other 280 acres contaminated. There’s still concrete rubble, metal, plastic and fiberglass everywhere, and the cleanup subcontractor stopped taking their calls. You can read more about it here: 

    https://stopthesethings.com/2024/07/10/fibreglass-from-shredded-wind-turbine-blades-renders-farming-land-useless/

    This isn’t an isolated incident. Here’s another example:

    https://bucoa.org/2023/08/02/four-months-later-new-york-hay-farm-is-still-unusable/

    I know there’s some sort of clean-up escrow for these wind turbines. But will that clean-up effort actually be fair, honest, thorough, and timely? Will it be cleaned up to the standard of my great grandfather, who homesteaded our land and pulled the rocks out of our fields with his own hands?

    Who is going to hold Lafayette Wind to the legal clean-up standard, and what happens when the land of non-participating farmers is contaminated? Or if Layfette Wind conveniently goes out of business? Will it be up to individual farmers to fight with a billion dollar Polish company that has an office full of lawyers, simply to get an honest clean-up job done? 

    I’m asking you to:

    1) Pause permitting and approvals for wind and solar projects in Fayette County, and 

    2) Hold a county-wide community meeting (not something run by the energy companies), where people can learn and discuss the facts of what’s happening. 

    Thank you for your time and consideration, 

    [Your Name]

Tips for writing emails & letters

Things to do

  • Address your letter/email to a specific person. You are more likely to get a response.

  • Personalize your letter/email. Include at least 1-3 unique sentences about why this issue is important to you.

  • Be respectful and direct. Model the kind of communication you would like to receive. 

  • Make a specific, actionable request. Propose next steps the recipient can take to help “make it better.”

  • Feel free to write to each and every County Board member! Make sure everyone receives your message.

  • Send a series of emails/letters. Consider sending a message about a different topic each week. We’ll make it easy for you by providing example letters here.

Things to avoid

  • Inflammatory language or accusations. It’s harder for people to hear and understand your message if they feel attacked or tense.

  • Exaggeration. It’s more difficult to find common ground and solutions when exaggeration clouds the facts of a situation. Like crying wolf, exaggeration undermines your credibility.

  • Unsubstantiated claims. Make it easy for people to find and verify the facts they need to form opinions and make decisions. Provide documentation or links to facts, data, research, articles, and credible sources that people can investigate themselves.

WHERE TO SEND YOUR EMAIL OR LETTER

Finding your representatives

If you don’t already know your district and the names of your Fayette County Board representatives, you can find the districts outlined in red on this map.

Then check this page or visit (and bookmark) the Fayette County Board web page to find the representatives for your district.

Email addresses

You may email each County Board member individually by clicking the “Email [FirstName]” links listed after the phone numbers on this page. These links will take you to an online form.

County Board general address

You may send physical letters to the attention of your district representatives—or all board members—at the address below:

ATTN: _________________
County Board
Fayette County Courthouse
221 S 7th Street
Vandalia, IL 62471

Board member addresses

We’ve also included here the publicly listed addresses for each board member, in case you want to contact them directly.

District 1

District 2

District 3

District 4

District 5

District 6

District 7

Documentation

For future reference, be sure to keep your own copy of anything you send to County Board members.

A caution about email privacy

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Instead, first send your email to the government official, without any BCCs, then simply forward that already sent message to your friend/colleague.