Farmers or land growers who grow crops in the name of safety would get additional compensation thanks to a bill presented to the Senate on Monday.
House Bill 1800, sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Pamela Althoff (R-McHenry), would reward growers for snow barriers they establish adjacent to highways. The bill passed the House in March.
“We’re asking growers to leave up a part of their crop to help with the blowing snow, and we think they need to be reimbursed for that consideration,” Althoff said.
Under the bill, a county board would compensate anyone who grows raw crops on land adjacent to county highways if the crop acts as a snow break and is left up. The county board would reimburse the grower at least 10 percent of the contract price of the crop as an inconvenience fee.
Snowy and slick roads in Illinois present a variety of dangers to drivers during winter. Last winter, the Missouri State Highway Patrol handled 1,117 calls for service assistance and nearly 400 calls pertaining to crashes; Illinois authorities reported approximately 300 accidents -- one of which was fatal -- during the December 16 weekend.
HB1800 passed the Senate unanimously and now awaits Gov. Bruce Rauner's signature.
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