Wind power is coming soon to the Windy City.

MONMOUTH - Warren County is working on a new wind tower ordinance in anticipation that Greenlight Energy, a Charlottesville, Va., company, will invest millions of dollars to build a wind farm near Alexis

"We have to protect our rural characteristics," said Blackstone resident Judy Campbell. "Until this summer, I never thought about retiring anywhere but here. I love the rural setting and my home is here. - That all will change."

It wasn't quite the mighty wind Naperville was hoping for, but the option to purchase renewable energy through residential utility bills did cause a bit of a breeze in its first year.

MENDOTA - A solar-energy company has plans to branch out into the wind-energy business with an 84-megawatt wind farm in Lee and LaSalle counties.

Residents Christ Fillip Jr., Mary Rose Krupa and Kenneth Drake attended many of the wind-farm meetings and were disappointed with the outcome. “This County Board is concerned with only one thing — dollars,” said Fillip, who lives in Leaf River.

The lack of a protection plan was a concern expressed by the members of the zoning board of appeals before they voted to approve the wind-farm on Tuesday night, 4-1.

BELVIDERE — A court fight brought by supporters of a Boone County wind farm project can only be against government agencies and not citizen opponents, a judge ruled Wednesday.

ALEDO - Wind energy is getting more attention in Mercer County. The issue was a topic of discussion at this week's regular Mercer County Board meeting. A Chicago area company is proposing a wind farm in the northern end of the county.

According to Terry Groves, director of building and zoning for the county, Navitas is likely considering about four farms in various locations around the county. The company may initially apply for zoning for a site on the northeast side of the county, Groves said

Jim Meenagh, with John Deere’s corporate office, said the times are a-changing, fuel costs a fortune, and “many progressive people” are looking at alternative energy sources such as wind power. One example is John Deere Credit (JDC). The company is looking to support and expand wind power — and there are many opportunities in the Midwest, Meenagh said.

The idea has been brought up in just about every county in the Stateline. Wednesday night in Ogle County members of the public were invited to come up and voice their opinions to the zoning board of appeals. The room was packed with concerned citizens, so much so that some were forced to listen to testimony from the hallway. Every person that stood up to talk was against the proposed wind farm.

BELVIDERE — Supporters of a proposed wind farm that was rejected by the Boone County Board last month are challenging the county’s decision in court.

Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich announced the launch of the $4 million Renewable Energy Development (RED) Fund that will support community-scale wind energy projects throughout Illinois.

The Windy City earned the nickname from blowhard politicians, not its weather conditions, but the winds that blow across the vast expanses of farmland throughout Illinois may soon help power the energy-hungry Chicago area. A Texas company will formally present a $500 million wind power project at a Tuesday hearing in Bloomington of the McLean County Zoning Board, the latest step in a process that began more than three years ago. The result -- in terms of energy produced -- would be the country's largest land-based wind farm.