Grundy County Judge Sheldon Sobol is standing by his ruling that it’ll take an act of the General Assembly to give the Illinois Department of Natural Resources authority over barge fleeting permits. Illinois and Michigan Oil wants to have up to 106 barges in an operation on the Illinois River east of Seneca. The judge says the IDNR part of the permitting process the company went through is invalid because state law says it’s out of IDNR’s jurisdiction. He says he’d have to ignore specific language saying so to give the Illinois Attorney General’s Office what it’s asking for.
A lawyer from the AG’s office says state law changes since 1907 repeal parts of the law passed that year that Sobol read for his decision. Sobol said during an online hearing this afternoon, newer laws don’t repeal older laws unless they specifically say they do or if they conflict with the older laws. There are other legal matters the judge will consider in the case in March.
Property owners Rick and Gloria Sims are the case’s plaintiffs. The ruling against the state isn’t exactly a ruling in their favor. Sobol found that they don’t have interested party status in the case. The barge fleeting operation would be opposite their riverside property. If IDNR is ultimately given jurisdiction, the couple would like the department to hear them.