Power Plant Opponents Swarm Village Leaders At Meeting
(CBS) – Heated arguments erupted Thursday night against a plan for a $450 million power plant in a tiny town in McHenry County.
A lot of people who live in Oakwood Hills say the village is really just a big, close-knit neighborhood. Now, the power plant issue is creating serious concerns among a growing number of people.
CBS 2's Pamela Jones reports.
Residents against plans for a new natural gas power plant in their village refused to be silenced at a village board meeting.
The facility would rise in a farm field behind where the Oakwood Hills Village Hall sits now, not far from signs many neighbors are pushing to pull the plug on the plant.
Some say they haven't seen enough detail from the village board.
"We don't need a power plant in close proximity to our homes and our schools," opponent Rosie Riley said.
The board says the plans must still go through several approvals.
But they say threats aimed at getting them to vote "no" on the issue forced the village hall to shut down for weeks.
It reopened this week with new security measures, including a metal detector.
Board members said they were at the meeting -- held at a community college to accommodate large crowds -- to listen to residents. A zoning panel will take up the issue next, in an Oct. 9 meeting.
