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December 5, 2009
Good News!!
Illinois Appellate Court Rules Against Fred
Barbara's Second Chicago Regional Landfill Application.
Retired local attorney Ed Vogt, who represents the
POWER
sponsored case (Byron Sandberg) against the second application for the
proposed Fred Barbara Chicago regional landfill and the other petitioners
which include Kankakee County, received notice today from the Illinois
Appellate Court of their findings.
Two out of the three
judges ruled against the second dump application because the applicant
failed to wait the required two years, before they filed the second
application, after the first application was turned down by the Illinois
Pollution Control Board because it failed to prove protection of the health
and safety of the community.
In addition to the above, all three judges ruled unanimously
against the second dump application because it is non-compliant with the
Kankakee County Sold Waste Plan which calls for only one dump in the
county.
Read the full Appellate Court decision here. Give it time to load as it
is 42 pages long.
This decision
comes after the Illinois Supreme Court, in March, ordered the Appellate Court
to vacate their decision in favor of the
Fred Barbara second
dump application.
The March
Illinois Supreme Court Supervisory order reads as follows.
"In the
exercise of its supervisory authority, the Illinois Supreme Court has ordered
the appellate court to vacate its prior order and ordered it to reconsider the
issues". It stated: "The appellate court will not be flippant in its
decision, but will act with the utmost decorum and give the issues the
attention and consideration they deserve. The appellate court will address the
issues thoroughly and completely." The court has given the
current panel the option of reassigning the case to another panel, and stated:
"Failure to comply with this supervisory order in all respects will
result in the appellate court's decision being summarily vacated and the cause
remanded to a different panel of justices." The underlined portions are the
Illinois Supreme Court's emphasis.
Fred Barbara
does have the opportunity to appeal the Illinois Appellate Court decision
against his proposed dump to the Illinois Supreme Court. It is also very
possible, the Illinois Supreme Court will not hear the case, give the fact
they have already ruled against the first Fred Barbara dump application,
ruling it failed to prove protection of the health and safety of the
community.
Fred Barbara may
also choose to not appeal since the FAA recently got involved with this issue
after
OUTRAGE informed the FAA the proposed dump would be less then 10,000
feet from the airport runway. Furthermore with the just announced decision to
construct a National Guard base on the airport’s west side, it is likely the
National Guard would also object to a huge bird attractant in its immediate
air space. Details
here.
August 21, 2009
Fred Barbara
has reached a settlement with the IEPA in the illegal dumping case against his
company, Kankakee Regional Landfill LLC.
Please click
settlement document to read the details. This document was obtained from
the Kankakee County Circuit Clerk's Office. Take note of the very last page
where Fred Bruno Barbara has signed as manager of defendant company, Kankakee Regional
Landfill LLC.
Other defendants,
Tom Volini as an individual and his company Town & Country
Utilities, Inc., have not settled. The case against them will continue
9:00 a.m. Tuesday November 17 at the Kankakee County Court House, room
204.
One other defendant in the case, a former
partner in the land, Edward F. Heil had the case against him dropped by the IEPA because he sold his interest in the land.
To read the full case brought by the IEPA,
click
read the law suit here. To get background information on Fred Barbara and
Tom Volini, click on their names.
Lawsuit background:
Fred Barbara's company, Kankakee
Regional Landfill, LLC,
Tom Volini as an individual and his company Town & Country Utilities,
Inc., the developers of the proposed Chicago regional garbage dump with the
City of Kankakee, are being sued by the Illinois EPA over illegal dumping
near their proposed dump site. Also being sued is their former partner in the
land, Edward Heil. Case No.
07 CH 303 which is being heard at the Kankakee County Court House. The
IEPA is represented by the Illinois Attorney Generals Office. Protecting Our
Water Environment & River, NFP. POWER
obtained pictures of illegal dumping of semi-truck loads of construction
debris and other garbage and turned them over to the IEPA which resulted in
this suit.
August 19, 2009
Great News! The U.S. Dept.
of Transportation, FAA has responded to a letter with supporting documents
from the local citizens’ group
OUTRAGE.
They are going to do a new review of the proposed Fred Barbara garbage dump.
They say the minimum 10,000 feet distance from the airport runway to the
proposed dump is a requirement.
The letter was about the proposed garbage
dump and the danger it poses to aircraft flying in and out of the Kankakee
Valley Airport. It will be a major water and food source for thousands of
birds and will be less then 10,000 feet from the runway as measured by GPS.
OUTRAGE sent the letter in response to POWER’s
request of the Kankakee Valley Airport Authority to rescind any and all
ordinances supporting the construction of the proposed
Fred Barbara and
Tom Volini garbage dump. The letter was sent to the National
Director of the FAA, Regional Administrator of the FAA, Secretary Ray Lahood
of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, Representative Debbie Halvorson and the
Illinois Department of Transportation, Aeronautics Division.
Click here to read the OUTRAGE letter, supporting documents and the FAA
response!
Great news!!!
March 26, 2009
The Illinois Supreme Court
took action today. They ordered the Appellate Court to vacate their
decision in favor of the
Fred
Barbara and
Tom
Volini
second dump application.
Here is what they said. "In the exercise
of its supervisory authority, the Illinois Supreme Court has ordered
the appellate court to vacate
its prior order and ordered it to reconsider the issues". It stated:
"The appellate court will not be flippant in its decision,
but will act with the utmost decorum and give the issues the attention
and consideration they deserve. The appellate court will address the
issues thoroughly and completely." The court has
given the current panel the option of reassigning the case to another
panel, and stated: "Failure to comply with this supervisory order
in all respects will result in the appellate court's decision being
summarily vacated and the cause remanded to a different panel of justices."
The underlined portions are the Illinois Supreme Court's emphasis.
What does this mean? It means
the recent Appellate Court decision to reverse
their previous decision to stop the second dump application is not being
allowed by the Illinois Supreme Court. The Illinois Supreme Court is
ordering the three Appellate Court judges involved in this case to go
back and do their job instead of ignoring most of the issues argued
against the dump. If they fail to do so the Illinois Supreme Court will
send the case to three different Appellate Court judges who will do
the job. This is a big set back for dump developers Fred Barbara and
Tom Volini.
Lake County Indiana Solid
Waste Officials Speak At Local Public Forum About
The Privately Funded Garbage-to-Ethanol Plant Being Built In Their Community.
February 20, 2009
On February 9, two Lake County
Indiana solid waste officials traveled to the City of Kankakee to speak
at a public forum about the privately funded garbage-to-ethanol
plant breaking ground in the next few months in their community. This
public forum was organized by Tim and Karen Schmidt and was held at
the Community Resource Center.
The garbage-to-ethanol plant
will create 400 construction jobs and140 plus jobs to run the plant at $18.00
per hour and up. Waste Management and Allied have requested to take garbage to
this plant because the plant will only charge $17.50 per ton to take garbage
while garbage dumps cost up to three times that much. Chicago is also signing
an agreement to railroad some of their garbage to this plant and purchase the
ethanol produced for their fleet of vehicles. The technology is very clean
and is well below all Federal EPA requirements. Far cleaner then any dump.
They will pay $2.50 per ton in host fees and 3 cents per gallon of ethanol
produced to local government generating 10's of millions dollars. Garbage
removal cost for residents and businesses will be reduced by 66%.
To watch the meeting, please
click here
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9193628396670415374&hl=en
For a copy of the handout sheet you
can print out, provide by the Lake County officials, please click here
Lake County Indiana
garbage-to-ethanol.pdf
In addition to the hand out,
they are also making available thousands of dollars of research material they
did on the business plan and science being used by this company. A
major accounting firm studied the business plan and Purdue University
did a study of the science. Both organizations gave a glowing report.
A plant in Arkansas is available for touring. See it here
http://www.ineosbio.com/80-Video.htm
Kankakee County Board Will Appeal The Proposed Garbage Dump
January 13, 2009
The Kankakee County Board voted 23 to 2 in favor of appealing the proposed
Fred Barbara and
Tom Volini
garbage dump to the Illinois Supreme court at today's county board meeting. Only two county board members opposed appealing to the Illinois Supreme Court. They were county board member Karen Campbell (who recently retired from working for the city of Kankakee) 932-1803 and county board member Leo Whitten, 929-0792. They believe the proposed Chicago regional garbage dump should be allowed to dump garbage directly into the aquifer, in the immediate water shed of the river, next to Minnie Creek which drains directly into the river upstream from the Aqua Illinois water intake pipe. Three other county board members were absent.
This is a huge victory for the community. Thanks to all who got involved and a big thank you to the Kankakee County Board!
Did former
State Rep. Phil Novak sell out the area's
clean water source to boost his salary and pension by participating
in Governor Blagojevich's "Pay for Play"?
You be the judge!
December 14, 2008
In the summer of 2002,
Fred Barbara
and
Tom
Volini
submitted their first application for a 236 acre Chicago
regional garbage dump to the City of Kankakee through their company Kankakee
Regional Landfill, LLC. The site they chose is a very flood prone area next to
Minnie Creek which drains directly into the river two miles away, up stream
from the Aqua Illinois water intake pipe. The city council held a hearing and
gave their OK to the proposal after being promised millions in garbage host fees.
From there the application
went to the Illinois Pollution Control Board. The IPCB had a different
opinion; they turned it down on the grounds the proposal failed to prove
protection of the health and safety of the community. Barbara
and Volini responded by appealing the decision all the way to the Illinois
Supreme Court where they lost. While the appeal was going on,
they filed a second dump application with the City of Kankakee in the
summer of 2003 for the same 236 acre location. This was during the first
year of the first term of the newly elected governor, Rod Blagojevich.
The city council once again approved the dump proposal.
Coincidentally local State
Representative Phil Novak resigned his state rep seat and the newly
elected governor appointed him to the IPCB as chairman, effective December 1
of that year. According to an April 27, 2008 Chicago Tribune front page
story, titled,
"The governor's $25,000 club" Phil Novak threw
a fund raiser for Blagojevich in July, 2002 which raised $19,000.
It also stated that on July 9, 2002, he personally donated $25,000 to
Blagojevich campaign fund bringing his total donations to $26,000 and was appointed to the Illinois Pollution
Control Board as chairman on December 1, 2003 at a salary of $102,800.
The Tribune article says this was a substantial boost in salary for
Mr. Novak and a substantial boost to his state pension, when he retired
in 2005. It is very unusual for a new person on the IPCB to be appointed
chairman.
When the second Barbara and
Volini dump application was sent to the IPCB under Phil Novak, it was
approved even though the previous IPCB had ruled the opposite and was
backed up by the Illinois Supreme Court.
Did Phil Novak get a significant
boost to his salary and his pension for a short term appointment to
the IPCB in exchange for campaign donations and the promise to approve
a dump for friends of the governor and Mayor Daley? Has our water
supply i.e. the river and deep aquifer, been sold out through one of
the governor's Play to Pay schemes? Will the Kankakee County
board appeal the Phil Novak Pollution Control Board decision
in favor of the dump to the Illinois Supreme Court? They will
be voting at the January 13, 9:00 AM board meeting to either quit or
to continue the fight by appealing.
Attorney Edward R. Vogt offers free representation
to the county to fight the proposed
Fred Barbara
and
Tom
Volini
garbage dump. See
his letter below.
Mr. John J. Boyd
Kankakee County States Attorney
450 E. Court St., Kankakee, Il 60901
12/11/08
Dear Mr. Boyd:
As previously discussed, I
will be happy to represent the County, pro bono, in the Illinois
Supreme Court, to assure continuation of the County's fight against
the proposed water polluting Barbara/Volini landfill.
It is essential for the protection of
the health, safety and welfare of all residents that this landfill be stopped.
This letter confirms my earlier
oral offer to represent the County.
Your failure to respond to
my request, in writing, will be deemed to be a denial of my request.
Yours Very Sincerely,
Edward R. Vogt
Attorney at Law
Kankakee, Il 60901
POWER
Petitions The Illinois Supreme Court To Have The Fred Barbara/Tom Volini Garbage Dump Approval Overturned.
November 5, 2008
Through its attorney Edward Vogt, POWER filed a petition with the Illinois Supreme Court, asking the Court to overturn the 3rd. District Appellate Court's approval of the city sponsored Fred Barbara/Tom Volini garbage dump.
POWER has been fighting for nearly 5 years to protect the public's health, safety and welfare from the toxic ravages of a proposed water contaminating garbage dump.
The petition is highly critical of the location of the proposed dump, which if built, will be blasted down into the aquifer, which supplies water to our rivers and our water supply. The petition is equally critical of the proposed theoretical architecture of the landfill, which is fatally flawed
The Illinois Supreme Court previously overturned the first Barbara/Volini application for its failure to protect the public's health, safety and welfare. The present application, under appeal, is substantially the same as the one previously denied by the Illinois Supreme Court.
POWER needs financial assistance to continue its work. If the appeal to the Supreme Court does not result in a denial the group is prepared to sue the City, the Applicant and the State of Illinois for violating the Federal Clean Water Act. Other such suits have been successful and resulted in denial of other water threatening garbage dumps.
POWER is a tax-deductible 501C3 charitable organization. All donations are fully tax deductible. Please send all donations to POWER P.O. Box 169 Bradley, Illinois 60915 or if using a credit card, please click on the PayPal donate button on the left.
InsideIndianaBusiness.com Reports Garbage-to-Ethanol Plant Moving Forward In Lake County, Indiana.
August 22, 2008
Be sure to click on the audio link below to hear about the millions of dollars that this project will bring into Lake County, Indiana.
Lake County Solid Waste Management District Executive Director Jeff Langbehn says the proposal provides a financial boost for Lake County.
A proposal to convert municipal waste in Lake County, Indiana to ethanol is moving forward. The Lake County Solid Waste Management District Board has approved a preliminary contract with Powers Energy One, formerly Genahol-Powers 1 LLC, for a $200 million plant. A final contract is expected to be approved after a 30 day comment period.
Lake County Solid Waste Management District Executive Director Jeff Langbehn says the company's proposal for dealing with garbage was more attractive than two other candidates. One of those companies was also proposing a waste-to-ethanol facility and the other was the current landfill provider, Allied.
Langbehn says the plant will be operating in less than two years, creating hundreds of construction jobs. He says the plant will also employ hundreds of Lake County residents
once it is up and running. 90% of the garbage stream will be recycled
because of this plant.
Mayor Green and Economic Alliance CEO Mike Van Mill,
There is no reason why you can't pick up the phone and call Mr. Langbehn to get first hand information on what they are doing. If there is a reason why you can't make the effort, POWER would like to know what it is!
Illinois Supreme Court
Orders The Third District Appellate Court To Vacate Their April 24 Decision.
June 6, 2008
POWER has learned the Illinois Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the
The County's motion for a
supervisory order. As a result, the Illinois Supreme Court, in the
exercise of its supervisory authority, has directed the Third District
Appellate Court to vacate their April 24 decision to reverse their 2006
denial of the second Barbara/Volini landfill application. The Appellate
Court is directed to reconsider the case including all the other issues
raised by the parties to the appeal which the Appellate Court failed to
rule on. The parties to the appeal are the County of Kankakee and POWER
through Mr. Byron Sandberg. Several issues have been argued including
protection of the health and safety of the community.
Kankakee County Board Votes In favor Of
Continuing The Legal Battle Against The City of Kankakee Backed Garbage
Dump.
May 14, 2008
POWER would
like to publicly thank the 22 Kankakee County board members who voted
yes to go forward with the legal battle against the proposed
Fred Barbara and
Tom Volini garbage dump near Minnie Creek which dumps directly
into the river upstream from the Aqua Illinois water intake pipe.
This proposal would literally dump garbage directly into the deep aquifer
by blasting out several feet of bedrock to form the base of a 200 feet
high mountain of garbage. The IEPA refused to stop this travesty
after they were pressured by a Cook County lobbyists,
Larry Suffredin hired by Barbara and Volini, all politically
connected to Mayor Daley and Governor Blagojevich.
Action by the Kankakee County Board was
needed because the Appellate Court decided to reverse their 2006 decision
against this proposal thereby allowing it to go forward. This was the
case sponsored by
POWER
through Mr. Byron Sandberg with the
help of local retired attorney Ed Vogt. The County also argued their
own case at the Appellate Court at the same time which resulted in the
County's landfill attorney and Mr. Vogt supporting each other's case against
the proposed dump. At this point the Appellate Court has failed to rule on
the issues the County's attorney argued.
Sadly County Board members Kelly McLaren
and Karen Campbell voted No and therefore support the dumping of
garbage directly into the deep aquifer next to Minnie Creek.
They have
consistently supported this dump proposal. Karen Campbell is a City
of Kankakee employee and should have abstained from voting on this issue
because of her conflict of interest. Kelly McLaren is running for Recorder
of Deeds this coming November and is seeking local Union Bosses support.
Local
Union Bosses have been huge supporters of the Fred Barbara/Tom
Volini dump.
Watch the Attorneys and
the Kankakee County Board discuss the County's legal battle to stop
the Fred Barbara/Tom Volini proposed garbage dump which is backed by
City of Kankakee Mayor Green and local Union bosses.
Click to view video
Garbage-To-Ethanol Plants Are Being Built Elsewhere. Why Not Here?
May 1, 2008
Please click on this link
http://www.brightcove.tv/search.jsp?query=coskata
It will take you to some very informative
short video clips on Coskata, Inc.
www.coskata.com.
This is the company General Motors is in partnership with in Warrenville, Illinois which is building garbage-to-ethanol plants. Warrenville is near Aurora. They are planning to build these plants on a global basis. There is no reason why we can't get one here.
Even if Mayor Green and Barbara -Volini win their dump, it will be cheaper to process garbage into ethanol then dumping it. Don't forget all the jobs that these plants create.
Lake County Indian projects a savings of $12,000,000 per year in garbage removal costs for their County with the building of two garbage-to-ethanol plants by two other companies within their county and the creation of 250 jobs and hundreds more in construction jobs. See article here
http://www.nwi.com/articles/2008/03/21/news/lake_county/doc1a0efe9ecdc9fbe086257413000d5e12.txt
Why can't this be done here? If City of Kankakee Mayor Green and our Kankakee County economic development leaders made the same effort to get a garbage-to-ethanol plant as they have for garbage dumps, it would happen!
POWER Fundraiser A Success!
February 11, 2008
Protect Our Water, Environment, and
River (POWER) wishes to thank
the 60 attendees and 24 local merchants or donors who helped make our
February 10 Valentine's Dinner, Dance, and Silent Auction a truly
elegant evening and a smashing success.
We extend our gratitude to: Andrea Taylor and Family, AnteUP Productions, Applebee's Restaurant, Aurelio's Pizzeria, Brickstone Brewery and Restaurant, Car Care Auto Center, Cracker Barrel Restaurant, Fifth Avenue Car Wash, Groucho's Coffee Cafe, Jeff Jarvis and Family, Hampton Inn, King Music, Love Shop, Oberweis Dairy (Happy Cows LLC), Paramount and Meadowview Theatres, Papa John's Pizza, Romer's Bakery/A Piece of Cake, Skinney's Pizza, TGIFriday's Restaurant, The Chicago Dough Company, Tholen's Landscape and Garden Center, TrendSetters College of Cosmetology, TriStar Martial Arts Academy, and Village Home Furnishings. Thank you for helping protect the water supply and health of Kankakee Valley citizens and the health of the Kankakee and Iroquois rivers against potential toxic leachate from the two proposed landfills.
IPCB AFirms 3-17-04 County Board Decision.
January 24, 2008
Illinois Pollution Control Board affirms the March 17, 2004 decision by the Kankakee County Board denying siting of a 302 acre garbage dump by Waste Management, Inc.
The Board finds that the proceedings before the County were fundamentally fair and Waste Management was not prejudiced by the proceedings. The Board further finds that the County's decision relating to the need for the facility (415 ILCS 5/39.2(a)(i) (2006)), the facility's design to minimize the impact on surrounding property (415 ILCS 5/39.2(a)(iii) (2006)), and the traffic patterns (415 ILCS 5/39.2(a)(vi) (2006)) is not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The Board therefore affirms the County's decision to deny siting for the landfill expansion proposed by Waste Management.
Waste Management has 35 days to appeal this decision against them to the Appellate Court. Click here to view the case details
http://www.ipcb.state.il.us/documents/dsweb/Get/Document-59998/
Illinois Pollution Control Board to hear Waste Management's Appeal.
December 7, 2007
The Illinois Pollution Control Board will hear Waste Management's
appeal of the 2003 Kankakee County Board rejection of their proposed
302 acre, 200 feet high Chicago regional garbage dump which would
be located within walking distance of the river and upstream from
the Aqua Illinois water intake pipe.
IPCB will hear the case in Chicago and make a decision by January
24. If Waste Management wins their appeal, under the law, the IPCB
would remanded the dump proposal back to the County Board for another
vote. In their appeal, Waste Management contends the County board
members, who voted No to three of the 9 criteria required by law
to win approval, did not base their decision on evidence presented
by Waste Management during their garbage dump hearing. Waste Management
has been asking for delays since 2003.
This is one of two proposed Chicago regional garbage dumps to be
sited in the immediate water shed of the Kankakee and Iroquois Rivers.
The other garbage dump is being proposed by Town & Country Utilities
owned by Tom Volini and Fred Barbara. Fred Barbara was recently
implicated in a Chicago mob trial and according to Chicago newspapers,
is a close friend of Chicago Mayor Daily. If both dump proposals
happen, a total of 600 acres, 200 feet high in garbage would be
dumped by as many as 600 semi-trucks daily.
Fred Barbara and Tom Volini are being sued by the Illinois EPA.
August 5, 2007
Fred Barbara's company, Kankakee Regional Landfill
LLC and Tom Volini's company, Town & Country Utilities, Inc., developers of the proposed
Chicago regional garbage dump with the City of Kankakee,
are being suited over illegal dumping near their proposed dump site.
Read the law suit here. Pictures obtained by POWER
of the illegal dumping of semi-truck loads of construction debris
and other garbage were turned over to the IEPA which has resulted
in this suit. The case has been filed with the Circuit Court in
the Kankakee County Court House. It is scheduled to be heard September
27, 9:00 A.M. room 204. An answer to this case by Mr. Barbara and Mr. Volini
are
due by August 29.
June 6, 2007
Illinois EPA Hearing To Be Held Wednesday June 13 at 6:00 PM In
The KCC Auditorium
POWER, OUTRAGE, Mini Creek Drainage District and other local groups
requested the IEPA to hold a legal hearing on Mr. Volini's latest
dump proposal for a Chicago regional landscape dump to be located
next to his proposed Chicago regional garbage dump. Both are to be
located next to Mini Creek which drains directly into the Kankakee
River up stream from the Aqua Illinois water intake pipe, a source
of water for thousands.
This latest proposal must be stopped. Just like his garbage dump
proposal, this is in an area that has little or no clay protecting
the shallow and deep aquifers from being polluted. It is also in
an area that is flood prone. The water table is near the surface.
Please click on Expert Reports and read what three independent scientists
have to say about the unsuitability of the hydro geology in that
area for dumping any garbage because it will result in polluting
the river, Mini Creek and the ground aquifers. Water supply for
thousands of people and wild life.
Urgent, Please attend this hearing. You will be given the opportunity
to speak.
You can also send written comments to
Stephanie Flowers, Hearing Officer (#21)
Re: Kankakee Regional Landfill L.L.C.
Illinois EPA
1021 North Grand Ave. East, P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
Phone: 217-782-5544
Written comments can be sent now and up to 30 days after the hearing
date. This means July 13, 2007 is the deadline for written comments.
Thursday March 22, 2007
City of Kankakee/Tom Volini Proposed Chicago Garbage Dump Suffers
Major Set Back!
Tom Volini of Town & Country Utilities and the City of Kankakee
suffered a blow to their proposed Chicago regional garbage dump
today. The Illinois Supreme Court announced their decision to overrule
the Appellate Court and to affirm the Pollution Control Board's
decision to disallow the proposed Town & Country/City of Kankakee
Chicago regional garbage dump because the applicant failed to prove
protection of the health and safety of the community.
With this decision, Town & Country's first application for
this garbage dump proposal is now stopped. A second application
for this dump proposal is currently on appeal with the Appellate
Court . A decision by the Appellate Court against Town & Country
Utilities would likely end this dump proposal unless Town &
Country attempts a third application which would start the whole
process over from the beginning with a multi-week hearing conducted
by the City of Kankakee.
Supreme Court Summaries
Opinions filed March 22, 2007
Nos. 101619, 101652 cons. Town & Country Utilities, Inc. v.
Illinois Pollution Control Board
Appellate citation: No. 3–03–0025 (unpublished order
under Supreme Court Rule 23).
JUSTICE FITZGERALD delivered the judgment of the court, with opinion.
Chief Justice Thomas and Justices Freeman, Kilbride, Garman, Karmeier,
and Burke concurred in the judgment and opinion.
In 2003, the city of Kankakee received an application for a new
solid waste landfill, to be located on a site recently annexed to
the city. After hearing testimony, the city approved the application,
but the county of Kankakee and others objected and appealed to the
Pollution Control Board. The Board reversed the city ‘s decision.
Judicial review in such matters is in the appellate court, rather
than the circuit court. The appellate court for the Third District
reversed the Board’s decision, finding that the result reached
at the local level should be deferred to.
On appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court, the issue presented was:
on judicial review, which body should have its decision subjected
to the manifest weight standard--the city or the Board? In the opinion
issued today, the supreme court held that the decision to be reviewed
is that of the Board. This result is required by statute. The appellate
court’s ruling was error on this question.
Evaluating the result reached by the Board, the supreme court
held that its decision, rejecting the city’s approval of the
landfill application on the basis of the evidence then presented,
was not against the manifest weight of the evidence. The appellate
court was reversed.
Monday, November 20, 2006
POWER Beats Volini/City of Kankakee In The Appellate Court
POWER received word today that the Appellate Court has ruled in our
favor and against the Volini second application to site a Chicago
regional garbage dump with the City of Kankakee.
POWER sponsored this case on behalf of POWER supporter Byron Sandberg
and was represented by attorney Ed Vogt.
POWER also has hired Dr. G. Fred Lee, a nationally known landfill
expert from California. See Dr. G. Fred Lee's background at http://www.gfredlee.com
See his full report on the Volini/City of Kankakee dump proposal at
http://www.members.aol.com/annejlee/KankakeeLFfinal.pdf
POWER also has worked with Stu Cravens. A hydro geologist in Illinois
with Kelron.
All this was done by raising money through various fund raisers such
as garage sales, raffle, etc.
Volini 2 was overturned by the Appellate Court in Ottawa. They ruled
that Volini violated the 172 Landfill Siting Legislation which prohibits
filing a second time with the same application within two years of
the first application.
Now Mr. Volini must win the case filed against him at the Illinois
Supreme Court by the County of Kankakee. That case deals with the
issue of public safety in regards to polluting the river and the ground
aquifers. The water source of thousands in the area.
At this month's County Board meeting an attempt was made by Mayor
Green to have the County Board withdraw their Supreme Court Case.
The motion to withdraw failed on a 11 to 8 vote.
The bottom line is it ain't over until its over and the little
guys can fight city hall and win.
Friday March 03, 2006
POWER has received word by mail the IEPA has granted a permit to
Tom Volini/ City of Kankakee to go ahead and start construction
of the infrastructure for their Chicago regional garbage dump. They
have not been granted a permit to dump any garbage at this time.
If they do get the permit to dump garbage (this is a big if because
of the legal cases they have to beat including the POWER/OUTRAGE
supported case), they will be piling it over 200 feet high by first
digging through the shallow aquifer into the primary deep aquifer.
This dump will dig into and remove several feet of bedrock believe
it or not.
We feel this was a political decision hurried up because of legislation
recently introduced in Springfield to stop landfills from being
sited within 6 miles from an airport. This dump will be less then
three miles from the Kankakee Airport. They also needed to get this
done before the election while Governor Blagojevich. is still in
office. Tom Volini and his partner Fred Barbara have ties to Mayor
Daily and Governor. Blagojevich. The Chicago papers did several
articles on Fred Barbara and his connection to organized crime,
the trucking scandal and Mayor Daily.
The IEPA completely ignored two top notch scientists, Stu Cravens
and Dr. G. Fred Lee both of whom, based on the science of the area,
filed opinions with the IEPA stating this dump is based on junk
science and will ultimately pollute the ground water and river with
garbage leachate. Dr. G. Fred Lee suggests we go to Federal Court.
He also says a landfill with this design is illegal in many states.
The fight is not over, we may go to Federal Court. In addition we
have a case at the Appellate Court and the County has a case, if
they accept it, at the Illinois Supreme Court.
When this garbage dump leachate pollutes the water supply, Volini's
company will likely file bankruptcy and the taxpayers of the city
of Kankakee will be responsible for the clean up and water rates
will go sky high to make Kankakee river water drinkable. Such a
deal.
POWER urges area citizens to write or call our State Legislators
to push for immediate passage of Senate Bill 2501 and its companion
House Bill 5515. Sponsored by State Senator Steve Forby and State
Representative Richard Bradley. This bill would immediately outlaw
the construction of landfills within a six (6) mile radius of any
general aviation airport.
Such a restriction would have killed the Volini dump if the IEPA
hadn't already issued a permit for it but it is not too late to
get this Bill passed to kill the County/Waste Management Chicago
regional Landfill proposals as it is also about three miles from
the Kankakee Airport and is not currently being considered by the
IEPA. The prohibition will take effect immediately after passage
of the Bill and prohibit any municipality or county from approving
a request for siting a landfill within a 6 mile radius of an airport.
It will also prohibit the IEPA from issuing a permit for a landfill
situated inside the six mile radius.
State Senator Debbie Halvorson: 241 W. Joe Orr Rd. Chicago Heights,
60411 (708) 756-0882
State Senator Gary Dahl: 103 Fifth St., P. O. Box 260 Peru, 61354
(815) 220-8720
State Representative Lisa Dugan: 135 S. Schuyler Ave. Kankakee
60901 (815) 939-1983
State Representative Careen Gordon: 760 E. Division Coal City 60416
(815) 634-3096
Urge them to call the bills to the Senate and House Floors for
immediate passage.
Please get the word out to your friends and neighbors in the Kankakee
area.
Check out the FAQ Page for a list of our
frequently asked questions!
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