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Mike Shorten Raises Alarm about State Takeover of Local Zoning Authority

Cal Skinner

From McHenry County Board member Mike Shorten:

McHenry County Board Member Warns BUILD Act Would Strip Local Zoning Authority — Calls on Residents to Act Before Spring Session Ends

Part of a growing pattern of Springfield stripping local control from Illinois communities

https://www.youtube.com/live/Xzt9LeF03cs?si=gKYt360ubHwKQ2Eh

WOODSTOCK, Ill. — McHenry County Board Member Mike Shorten is warning residents that the BUILD Act, backed by Governor Pritzker (House Bill 5626), would require every municipality in Illinois to allow multi-unit housing on residential lots by right, with no public hearing and no local approval beyond a building permit. Per the language in the bill, on a lot of just 7,500 square feet — well under a quarter acre — a developer could build as many as eight units. Shorten calls it an eightfold increase in allowable density, imposed by Springfield, that would eliminate the voice of the people who live in those communities.

“Intersections that work today would not work tomorrow. Water mains, sewer lines, and stormwater systems designed for single-family neighborhoods would be overwhelmed. Those upgrades do not come free. They come in the form of property tax increases, levied on the same residents who moved to McHenry County to get away from exactly this kind of density.”

— Mike Shorten, McHenry County Board Member, District 4

What the Bill Would Do

House Bill 5626 would require every municipality in Illinois to allow multi-unit housing on residential lots by right, eight months after passage. 

On a lot of just 7,500 square feet — well under a quarter acre — a developer could build up to eight units with no public hearing and no local approval beyond a building permit.

The bill imposes no owner-occupancy requirement, and municipalities would have no authority to require one. A developer could purchase a single-family home, demolish it, and replace it with a multi-unit building.

A developer could also retain the existing structure, add a secondary rental unit, and collect rent from both without living on the property.

The bill also caps parking requirements for multi-unit housing and requires that school and park impact fees be calculated using a state-issued formula rather than through local negotiation. Any developer who believes a local government failed to comply with the new state standards could sue that government and collect attorney’s fees from local taxpayers if successful.

McHenry County has 310,000 residents and is the sixth largest county in Illinois. It is not a dense urban community. It has working farmland, established single-family neighborhoods, lakes, and small downtowns. Our infrastructure is only designed to support the vision that local government officials have advanced over the long term. Under HB 5626, a residential lot in Crystal Lake, Woodstock, Cary, or any other McHenry County municipality would be subject to the same density floor as one in Chicago.

Many McHenry County residents have moved here from Chicago or the inner suburbs. The zoning in communities like Crystal Lake, Woodstock, Cary, and McHenry reflects decisions those communities made about who they wanted to be. This legislation takes years of effort and public investment and throws it out the window.

More density, more traffic, and more strain on roads, schools, and infrastructure — in communities built around single-family neighborhoods and car ownership, with no transit network to absorb it.

“These are not suggestions from Springfield. They are mandates. And our communities will have no authority to push back. The mandates imposed by Springfield will fundamentally alter the vision that local government has worked to build and protect, in ways our residents do not want.”

— Mike Shorten, McHenry County Board Member, District 4

Part of a Larger Pattern

HB 5626 is the latest in a string of state laws that have taken zoning authority away from Illinois counties and municipalities. In January 2023, HB 4412 was passed during a lame-duck session of the outgoing legislature and signed as Public Act 102-1123. That law stripped counties of their authority to set standards for utility-scale solar and wind farms on agricultural land. Seventy-two of Illinois’s 102 county boards had passed formal resolutions opposing it. It passed anyway. In the past week alone, Shorten fielded more than a half dozen calls from residents asking why the County Board isn’t stopping the solar farms going up across the county.

“When residents ask me why the County Board isn’t stopping these solar farms, I have to tell them their frustration belongs at the feet of the state, not this board. The General Assembly passed a law which was signed by Governor Pritzker, that erased our zoning laws and mandated that we approve every proposal put before us that met their standards.”

— Mike Shorten, McHenry County Board Member, District 4

In October 2025, the People Over Parking Act was folded into a Chicagoland transit funding bill that passed the General Assembly at 4:22 in the morning on October 31st during the fall veto session. Starting June 1st of this year, developers building near any of McHenry County’s seven Metra stations can put up residential or commercial projects with no minimum parking requirement. Local governments have no authority to require otherwise.

Governor Pritzker also signed the Clean and Reliable Grid Affordability Act in January 2026, extending state preemption to large-scale battery energy storage facilities. Counties now operate under state-mandated siting standards for

  • solar farms,
  • wind farms, and
  • battery storage projects,

with significantly less authority to manage them than they had a year ago.

All three laws work the same way: Springfield sets a standard, wipes out local oversight, and mandates that communities fall in line.

“McHenry County is a place people choose to move to, raise their kids, and retire. That didn’t happen by accident. It is the direct result of local government bodies that know their communities and have worked to build and protect them. Springfield’s one-size-fits-all centralized planning model is a giant middle finger to all of our local leaders who have worked historically to make McHenry County what it is today.”

— Mike Shorten, McHenry County Board Member, District 4

What to Do

HB 5626 was introduced by Rep. Kam Buckner, with Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth as chief co-sponsor and Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II as co-sponsor. Governor Pritzker has backed the bill publicly. These legislators represent Chicago. They are not going to hear from their own constituents on this.

“While the McHenry County Council of Governments is in discussions with the Governor’s office, Shorten says it is critical that residents not wait on that process. He is urging every McHenry County resident to file a witness slip and to call or email the bill’s sponsors and the Governor’s office directly — and make clear that importing Chicago housing density into McHenry County is not the solution.”

— Mike Shorten, McHenry County Board Member, District 4

The Illinois Legislature spring session ends in late May.

  • HB 5626 — Building Up Illinois Developments (BUILD) Act

HB 5626 Sponsors — Contact Information

  • Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-92, Peoria) — Chief Co-Sponsor Springfield: (217) 782-3186 | District: (309) 681-1992 repjgordon@gmail.com
  • Rep. Curtis J. Tarver, II (D-25, Chicago) — Co-Sponsor Springfield: (217) 782-8121 | District: (773) 363-8870 reptarver.com/contact

Find your state legislators: ilga.gov/members/FindMyLegislator

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