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Gotion Incorporated, with reported ties to the Chinese Communist
Party, is set to receive more than $7 billion in federal tax
credits, and over $500 million in subsidies from Illinois.
During a news conference Monday in Manteno, State Rep. Brad
Halbrook, R-Shelbyville, said the tax incentives don’t add up.
“The total subsidies for the plant calculate to an astounding $3
million for each job created,” Halbrook said. “Why are U.S.
taxpayers providing $8 billion in economic incentives for the
construction of a plant that costs $2 billion to build?”
The plant will produce battery cells and battery packs designed
to be used in electric vehicles and large-scale energy storage
systems.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker has called the agreement “the most
significant new manufacturing investment in Illinois in
decades.”
Many Manteno residents were highly critical of the Gotion plant
during the village's last board meeting, as residents were with
a similar Gotion project in Michigan.
Former Congressman and U.S. Ambassador Pete Hoekstra chaired the
House Intelligence Committee. He is also involved with the
opposition to the Michigan plant.
“History lesson number one, China is our enemy, they are not a
competitor,” Hoekstra said. “They seek to destroy us and our
communities.”
Pritzker has described Republican opposition to the closed-door
deal with Gotion as political grandstanding and called
detractors “xenophobic.”
“This has become a standard practice for this governor, the
petulant name calling to deflect any time he doesn’t want to
answer a question,” state Sen. John Curran told Fox News
Digital.
The proposed plant, which state officials said will create 2,600
jobs, is slated to begin production in 2024.
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