A new political committee was founded in July.

It’s called Clean Energy Illinois; its chairman and treasurer are both the same individual, a Chicago man named Barry Matchett.

Since August 22, it has taken in at least $67,500 mostly in $10,000 contributions from “renewable” and “wind” energy companies or PACs located in Chicago, Oregon, Texas, Florida and Washington, DC.

Its purpose is “to support candidates for public office who support clean energy.”

Nothing wrong with that.

Perhaps.

But take a look at their website:

It appears that the “long-term strategy” of this special interest group is to plant windmills all the way to the horizon.

Is that what we want in McHenry County?

Apparently, at least one of our state legislative candidates thinks we do. W

hy else would the Madigan-backed Dee Beaubien, challenging Republican David McSweeney for the 52nd District House seat, be taking money from Clean Energy Illinois to pay an Evanston staffer?

When I went looking for how Clean Energy Illinois is putting its contributions, I found this:

So far, no Republicans.

Just House Speaker Mike Madigan’s candidates for the Illinois House – notably including Dee Beaubien.

What set me on this search?

My late father used to say that if something seemed logical in the public arena, it probably was what was happening.

That’s why I found so intriguing an issue raised during last week’s debate between 26th District GOP State Senator Dan Duffy and his Democratic challenger Amanda Howland and, then, between 52nd District Republican State Representative nominee David McSweeney and his Madigan-backed opponent Dee Beaubien.

Not since the 1990s have I heard a debate on this proposal, and at that time, it was designed to thwart pig farms.

Big pig farms.

They generally stink, and people don’t want to be neighbors. (I remember the best sticker of the decade was “Pigs don’t vote.” Windmills don’t either, but apparently, they do fund candidates.)

Someone raised a question about affordable housing, and Amanda Howland suggested

“universal building codes.”

Then State Rep. candidate Dee Beaubien brought up the same topic in response to a question about over-regulation of business. Oddly, she cited as a problem,

“… no uniform building code for the state.”

Who would have an interest in imposing a “uniform building code” throughout the state?

A PAC whose commercial interest would be advanced by stripping local citizens and property owners of their say in local land-use policies?

It may be time to tilt at windmills, before our legislators in Springfield decide for us whether we will be seeing – and hearing – them in our own neighborhoods.