Ill. Const. 1970, art. To the contrary, the defendants maintain that the legislature intended by the above statutory provision that counties would be the only units of local government granted such regulatory authority over surface mining. We agree with the defendants. Statutory construction is a question of law that this court considers de novo. The cardinal rule of statutory construction is to ascertain and give effect to the intent of the legislature.
Courts first look to the language of the statute to determine legislative intent.
To accomplish this goal, the entire statute must be considered, and words used should be given their plain and ordinary meanings. The language of a statute must be viewed as a whole, such that each section of the statute is examined in relation to every other section. When the meaning of the statute is clear, we need not look beyond its language and resort to aids for construction. 158 Ill. 2d at 81. However, where the language is ambiguous, it is appropriate to consider the legislative history.