Madison County Board reverses Moro solar permit denial amid lawsuit

Madison County has reversed course on a disputed solar project in Moro, approving the permit after months of litigation pressure over an earlier denial.

At its June 17 meeting, the Madison County Board voted 19-6 to repeal and rescind its prior denial of a special-use permit for the solar facility proposed for 275 N Main St. in Moro. The board then approved the project with additional conditions.

The applicant is Madison IL 1 LLC, along with property owners Larry and Charlene Bandy, trustees of the Larry and Charlene Bandy Living Trust. The project sits at the center of a broader fight over how far county zoning authority can reach under Illinois solar-siting rules.

How the dispute escalated

The board first denied the permit in November 2025 on a 23-3 vote. In December, it attempted to revisit the decision, but that reconsideration ended in an 11-11 tie, leaving the denial in place.

The conflict moved into court in February 2026. On Feb. 6, Madison IL 1 LLC and the Bandys sued Madison County, arguing state law required approval if the project met the legal criteria. A separate lawsuit filed by Wolf Road Solar on Feb. 13 added another legal challenge for the county.

The Telegraph reported that county officials had said state regulations gave them limited room to reject solar sites that satisfy the applicable requirements. That legal backdrop appears to have shaped the board’s June reversal, even as members remained divided over the project.

Why the vote mattered

The June 17 action did more than settle one permit dispute. It showed the county moving away from the earlier denial posture that triggered litigation and toward approval under added conditions.

The county’s decision also matters because it came amid wider concerns about potential court orders affecting local zoning authority. If similar denials are challenged and tied to state solar rules, Madison County could face additional litigation risk.

County leaders had already revived a litigation subcommittee in May as solar-related legal exposure increased. The board’s handling of the Moro permit became part of that broader legal and political response.

What remains unresolved

Court records cited by The Telegraph show the county was ordered to respond in the Madison IL 1 LLC case by June 24. The reporting does not say what happened after that deadline or how the court may treat the county’s reversal.

The conditions attached to the approved permit were also not detailed in the reporting. That leaves an open question about how much practical change the June 17 approval could bring for the Moro project.

The separate Wolf Road Solar lawsuit is still pending, so the county’s legal exposure has not ended with the Moro vote. The board’s reversal may ease one dispute, but it does not resolve the broader set of solar siting cases now facing Madison County.

For now, the June 17 vote marks the clearest turning point in the case: after denying the project, then deadlocking on reconsideration, the county ultimately approved the Moro solar permit under the pressure of ongoing litigation.