GALENA, Ill. -- Attorneys checked off one more item from the long list leading to the final battle determining California dairyman A.J. Bos' right to operate a large-scale facility near Nora.
On Monday, Jo Daviess County Judge Kevin Ward presided over the last pre-trial conference before the Nov. 23 trial that will determine whether a permanent injunction will be issued.
If issued, the injunction would halt construction and operation of the project that has captured the county's attention for almost two years.
Sixteen individual defense motions packed the agenda.
For three hours, Bos' attorney Don Manning argued for his motions, while David Albee countered for his client, the nonprofit environmental group, Helping Others Maintain Environmental Standards (HOMES).
The motions included barring witnesses, excluding transcripts from the preliminary injunction trial and forbidding the use of the word "stream" during the trial.
Time and time again, Ward denied the defense motions, and at hearing's end, not one motion had been granted.
At one point during the hearing, Manning asked Ward to forbid Albee from mentioning the individual health ailments of the plaintiffs, several of whom live close to the proposed dairy site. The plaintiffs have argued that the facility should not be allowed to operate because of health risks.
"Their health concerns are not relevant," Manning said. "They are not germane to whether or not a facility is a nuisance."
He also asked the judge to not allow into evidence a petition with more than 700 signatures opposing the dairy.
"It is inappropriate to have allegations about what public opinion is," Manning said. "Again, it is not relevant to this case."
While Ward continued denying the defense motions, the morning could not be considered a clean sweep victory for HOMES and the other plaintiffs associated with the case. Several times throughout the hearing, Ward said he found the defense's arguments "legitimate," although he thought that several of those arguments would be more appropriately decided during the trial.
The next step before the trial is a hearing at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10, when both sides will argue whether the preliminary injunction should be dissolved.
