State Veto Session Passes Energy Bill Limiting County Zoning, Approves Toll Hike for Mass Transit

Meeting Summary and Briefs: Will County Legislative Committee for November 4, 2025

Article Summary: A state lobbyist reported to Will County that the Illinois General Assembly passed a major energy bill during its fall veto session that further limits county authority over siting solar projects. Separately, a mass transit funding deal was approved, which will be financed by a 45-cent toll increase for passenger cars.

State Veto Session Key Points:

• An energy bill passed during the fall veto session further restricts county government control over the zoning and permitting of solar farm projects.

• A mass transit funding package was approved, which will divert a portion of motor fuel tax revenue that typically funds road construction.

• To offset the road funds and gain support from labor unions, the deal includes a toll increase of 45 cents for cars and 30 cents for commercial vehicles.

During the Will County Legislative Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, state lobbyist Matt Murphy of Mac Strategies reported on two major pieces of legislation passed during the recent fall veto session: a controversial energy bill and a funding package for mass transit.

Murphy informed the committee that the energy bill, which had been debated throughout the year, passed both chambers and is expected to be signed by the governor. The legislation, he said, “limited even further counties’ ability to regulate solar farms and solar projects,” continuing a trend of the state overriding local zoning authority on renewable energy projects.

A second major bill passed was a funding and reform package for mass transit. Murphy explained that after months of competing proposals, legislative leaders and the governor agreed to a deal that will dedicate a portion of motor fuel tax—revenue normally used for road construction—to mass transit.

To make up for the lost road funding and appease construction labor unions, the deal was tied to a toll increase on Illinois tollways. The increase will be 45 cents for passenger cars and 30 cents for commercial vehicles, with the new revenue going toward tollway construction projects.

When questioned by board member Judy Ogalla (R-Monee) about how the toll money replaces the diverted road funds, Murphy clarified the two were a political trade-off. “It was sort of a separate transaction to where [Local 150] said, ‘Well, we’ll stand down and let you do that… but we want more money going into tolls for construction in the tollway area as a tradeoff for this money that our industry will lose.’”