Buying Land in Henry County, Illinois

Zoning: one countywide ordinance in place since 1959

Henry County's Zoning & Building Department, at 307 W. Center Street in Cambridge, administers the Zoning Ordinance For The Unincorporated Areas of Henry County -- in effect since September 8, 1959 and covering all unincorporated land in the county under 55 ILCS 5 Division 5-12. Land inside an incorporated city or village (Kewanee, Galva, Cambridge, and the county's other towns) is governed by that municipality's own zoning code instead, so confirm which jurisdiction actually applies before relying on any specific district or setback figure.

Henry County has 24 townships and a 20-member county board elected from two districts, using Illinois's standard township form of government rather than the commission form used by 17 of the state's 102 counties. Because Henry County has adopted countywide zoning, Illinois's Article 110 township zoning does not independently apply in any Henry County township -- the county Zoning & Building Department is the operative authority for unincorporated land regardless of which township it sits in.

Two wind projects already built, a third on the way

Henry County is one of Illinois's more heavily wind-developed counties by installed capacity. Invenergy built the three-phase Bishop Hill Wind Farms here between 2012 and 2018 -- Bishop Hill I (98 turbines, 211.4 MW) and Bishop Hill II (50 turbines, 81 MW) both came online in 2012, followed by Bishop Hill III (53 turbines, 132 MW) in 2018 -- for a combined 201 turbines and 424 MW, sited generally between Woodhull and Galva. More recently, Avangrid (part of the Iberdrola Group) brought its Midland Wind project to commercial operation in December 2023: 25 turbines totaling 106 MW, extended across Kewanee, Galva, and Cambridge townships, estimated to contribute more than $25 million in property tax revenue over the project's life supporting local school districts, fire districts, and libraries.

A fourth project, Big Bluestem Wind, is now in active development by Apex Clean Energy: up to 300 MW across a planned 70-75 turbines, targeting commercial operation in 2028. As of the most recent reporting found, more than 60 landowners had already signed agreements to host turbines, and the project runs an active community grant program supporting local economic development, environmental, education, and health initiatives. See our dedicated wind and solar leasing page for Henry County for what buying land near any of these projects, or evaluating a lease offer, actually involves.

The statewide rules behind local wind and solar siting

Illinois counties don't have unlimited discretion over commercial wind and solar siting. Public Act 102-1123, signed January 27, 2023, amended 55 ILCS 5/5-12020 of the Counties Code to set statewide siting standards -- covering setbacks, turbine height, decommissioning, and agricultural-land considerations -- that a county's own ordinance cannot exceed in restrictiveness, and it bars counties from imposing outright moratoriums on wind or solar development. Confirm Henry County's own current, specific wind/solar zoning provisions directly with the Zoning & Building Department given how much wind development has already occurred here.

Septic, GIS, and other departments to know

Septic permitting in Henry County runs through the Henry & Stark County Health Department, headquartered at 110 North Burr Boulevard, Suite B, in Kewanee ((309) 852-0197), which reviews plans, issues permits, and inspects both well and septic installations under the statewide IDPH Title 77 Part 905 code for both Henry and Stark Counties jointly.

Henry County's Assessment Office (307 W. Center St., Cambridge; (309) 937-3570) handles property valuation, GIS parcel mapping, and assessed values, and the County Clerk & Recorder's office at the same courthouse address handles recorded deeds, easements (including any wind-lease documents), and plats -- worth checking specifically for a parcel near any of the county's wind projects. University of Illinois Extension serves Henry County jointly with Mercer, Rock Island, and Stark Counties, with a local office at 358 Front Street in Galva.