ECA Solar condemns Morris lawsuit as government overreach threatening clean energy, jobs, and investment.
MORRIS, Ill., Sept. 17, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- ECA Solar today condemned the city of Morris for filing a lawsuit against Grundy County, a private landowner, and an ECA Solar subsidiary. The lawsuit seeks to block a massive solar project located outside the city's jurisdiction, which has already been approved for a Special Use Permit through Grundy County's zoning process.
The proposed solar project, which would provide high-paying, prevailing-wage jobs, is in unincorporated Grundy County, outside Morris' city limits. Illinois law is clear: Municipalities cannot control land use beyond their borders when counties have adopted zoning ordinances.
"This is reckless government overreach and a waste of taxpayer dollars," said Todd Fryatt, Founder and CEO of ECA Solar. "Morris residents are now paying for litigation to block a project on land the city doesn't own, doesn't govern, and Morris is spending taxpayer money to fight battles it has no legal right to wage."
Earlier this year, Illinois Circuit Court Judge Sheldon R. Sobel ruled against Morris in a similar matter.
"This waste of taxpayer money is even more egregious because Morris knows the lawsuit is baseless," said ECA Solar's attorney Robert Middleton Esq., of ArentFox Schiff. "The city has already been told that they have no legal right to control the permitting of solar projects outside of Morris."
Illinois families are already burdened with some of the highest electric bills in years, while the state faces growing strain on the power grid. This solar project would deliver clean, reliable energy to thousands of Illinois homes, create good-paying, skilled labor jobs, and inject millions of dollars in private investment into Grundy County.
ECA Solar is calling on Morris officials to explain why this lawsuit was filed before City Council or the Finance Committee's approval, and whether Grundy County was notified before the filing of litigation on September 4th . "This lawsuit punishes Illinois," said Fryatt. "It blocks jobs, stalls investment, and works against lowering energy costs for families who can least afford it. The city of Morris should answer to its residents for this wasteful and irresponsible use of public money."
About ECA Solar
Independently owned and operated for over 11 years, ECA Solar develops community-scale solar projects that provide significant benefits to the local economy, community, and environment. They value diversity and creativity to achieve the common goal of making solar energy more accessible to everyone. With over 1.3GW of clean energy assets in the pipeline, ECA Solar is a platform investors can trust to secure land, permits, and utility approvals to bring projects online and on-time. www.ecasolar.com
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SOURCE ECA Solar
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