{"id":1446052,"date":"2023-12-27T02:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-12-27T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/?p=1446052"},"modified":"2023-12-27T02:00:00","modified_gmt":"2023-12-27T07:00:00","slug":"this-is-our-town-inside-a-small-town-battle-against-a-giant-chinese-battery-plant","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bugaluu.com\/news\/this-is-our-town-inside-a-small-town-battle-against-a-giant-chinese-battery-plant\/1446052\/","title":{"rendered":"“This Is Our Town” – Inside A Small-Town Battle Against A Giant Chinese Battery Plant"},"content":{"rendered":"

“This Is Our Town” – Inside A Small-Town Battle Against A Giant Chinese Battery Plant<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Authored by Nathan Worcester via The Epoch Times<\/a> (emphasis ours),<\/em><\/p>\n

Two common signs stood out on the front lawns and street corners of Manteno, Illinois, on Dec. 13: \u201cKeep Christ in Christmas<\/strong>,\u201d sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, and \u201cChoose Manteno: No Go on Gotion!\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Ten miles south of where Chicago\u2019s suburban sprawl finally peters out, Manteno is the latest battleground over Chinese companies coming to middle America\u2014in this case, the electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturer Gotion Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of China\u2019s Gotion (or Guoxuan) High-Tech Co.<\/p>\n

While a recent Manteno board decision to rezone a manufacturing site favorably to Gotion came as a setback for opponents, the war for the industrial future of Manteno\u2014and America\u2014is far from over.<\/p>\n

The recently formed group Concerned Citizens of Manteno fired back with a lawsuit against Gotion and the village on Dec. 22.<\/p>\n

In Manteno and towns like it, Americans are steeling themselves for a struggle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe Chinese government does not like us. Look what happened with the coronavirus. … But this is our town, not theirs, and we\u2019re going to fight to save it,\u201d Gotion opponent Ryan McHeffey told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n

The story begins in early September, when Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat, came to Manteno and revealed<\/a> that Gotion would site a $2 billion EV battery plant in the community.<\/p>\n

The proposed location was a 100-plus acre property at 333 S. Spruce St. that includes a former Kmart distribution center<\/strong>. The parcel lies on the west side of Interstate 57, the north\u2013south\u00a0artery that cleaves Manteno in two as it whooshes down to the Missouri Bootheel.<\/p>\n

The deal came with $536 million in incentives from the state of Illinois. Kankakee County has also offered the company a 30-year property tax abatement. The project could also be eligible for federal green energy tax credits.<\/p>\n

The project will deliver \u201c2,600 new good-paying jobs in Manteno,\u201d <\/strong>Mr. Pritzker said in a statement.<\/a><\/p>\n

Mayor Timothy Nugent, who has ruled the village with little opposition since the mid-2000s, described<\/a> the Gotion announcement as a \u201chuge win.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although there were rumblings<\/a> about Gotion in the weeks beforehand, Mr. Pritzker\u2019s September announcement caught many by surprise\u2014and it galvanized opposition.<\/p>\n

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker speaks during a ceremonial groundbreaking at the Obama Presidential Center in Chicago on Sept. 28, 2021. (Scott Olson\/Getty Images)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden, everybody heard about it,\u201d Manteno resident Julie Holda told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n

Ms. Holda is one of numerous locals campaigning against Gotion.<\/p>\n

Manteno activists who spoke with The Epoch Times cited a range of worries, including over highly toxic materials employed in lithium battery production, the use of taxpayer subsidies for a foreign company, possible threats to flora and fauna, destabilizing development of the sleepy village, and the influence of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).<\/p>\n

In a September letter<\/a> to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen requesting an in-depth look at Gotion by the Treasury\u2019s Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and other Republican officials describe those alleged ties.<\/p>\n

\u201cLi Zhen, the company\u2019s founder and chairman, is a member of the Anhui Provincial Federation of Industry and Commerce<\/strong>, which is part of the CCP\u2019s United Front system and takes direction from the CCP. His son, Li Chen, who is also Guoxuan\u2019s CEO, is a member of the Baohe District Chinese People\u2019s Political Consultative Committee, which is an advisory body of the CCP,\u201d the lawmakers wrote.<\/p>\n

Annette LaMore, a retired postal carrier and anti-Gotion activist, told The Epoch Times, \u201cWe are inviting our enemies into our town.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mike Barry, an area football coach, questioned the impact of the property tax cap on homeowners as well as the project\u2019s long-term effect on property values.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow am I going to sell my house … with a lithium battery factory?<\/strong>\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Michael Barry (L) and other opponents of the proposed Gotion factory in Manteno, Ill., on Dec. 13, 2023. (Nathan Worcester\/The Epoch Times)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

A Town Divided<\/h2>\n

November polling<\/a> by a center-right group, Cor Strategies, revealed that a majority of Kankakee County residents oppose the development, with just 27 percent in support. The results suggest that Gotion critics have most of the area\u2019s public on their side.<\/p>\n

But Manteno residents who spoke with The Epoch Times acknowledged that the issue has raised tensions in the town.<\/p>\n

At one point, while leading The Epoch Times\u2019 reporter through a business in town, activists explained why they were so circumspect.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is literally the Hatfield\u2019s and the McCoy\u2019s right now. We just walked into the McCoy\u2019s territory<\/strong>,\u201d one of them said.<\/p>\n

Manteno resident Marina Fisher said: \u201cIt hurts so bad. This has really divided this town.\u201d<\/p>\n

She spoke to The Epoch Times with her 13-year-old son, Emilio, and her 1-year-old boy, Evers. Evers is her \u201crainbow baby\u201d\u2014a child born after a miscarriage.<\/p>\n

Like others who spoke with The Epoch Times, Ms. Fisher came to Manteno to get away from all the problems in Chicagoland.<\/p>\n

Now, she’s worried that toxic materials at the plant could make her new home unsafe. At issue are lithium, the base material for the batteries, and other chemicals used in battery manufacturing.<\/p>\n

In a 2023 review<\/a> on the health risks of lithium-ion batteries, Polish researchers noted that lithium has long been prescribed to patients with bipolar disorder, meaning that scientists have some insight into lithium toxicity in people. The health of the kidneys, thyroid gland, and parathyroid gland can all be jeopardized. Lithium has also been linked to birth defects.<\/p>\n

Locals are particularly concerned about another chemical, N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), that may or may not be at play in Manteno.<\/p>\n

Robert Dube, an attorney involved in the Manteno lawsuit, told The Epoch Times that Gotion “could not confirm” whether it would use it in its proposed facility.<\/p>\n

Marina Fisher, with her sons, Evers, 1, and Emilio, 13, says she will move away if Gotion’s lithium battery plant comes to town, in Manteno, Ill., on Dec. 16, 2023. (Nathan Worcester\/The Epoch Times)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) concluded<\/a> in 2020 that the use of NMP in lithium-ion battery manufacturing presents “unreasonable risks.” It has linked NMP exposure<\/a> to kidney toxicity, liver toxicity, neurotoxicity, and more.<\/p>\n

Pollution, including water pollution, is nothing new to the region. Northern Illinois is dotted with superfund sites designated by the EPA. In places such as Ms. Fisher\u2019s old neighborhoods in Chicago, Back of the Yards and McKinley Park, a map<\/a> developed by University of Illinois researchers reveals dangerous levels of lead, a neurotoxin, in the soil.<\/p>\n

In June, ABC reported<\/a> that residents in nearby University Park still stick to bottled water four years after lead was found in the drinking water. The water was supplied by a private utility, Aqua Illinois, at about the time it began sourcing from the Kankakee River rather than wells. Aqua Illinois is the same utility that supplies water to Manteno (reporting from the period doesn’t indicate that lead pollution affected Manteno).<\/p>\n

Village of Manteno officials have said<\/a> that \u201cresidential water supply will not be affected by the water needs from the Gotion plant,\u201d citing assurances from Aqua Illinois. It stated that the plant\u2019s wastewater will be low risk after some level of pre-treatment of the sort common for \u201cother manufacturing plants in the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

But Ms. Fisher isn\u2019t satisfied. She worries that air and water pollution could sicken her and her young children.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot everybody can afford cases of water,<\/strong>\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Like some others in Manteno, she feels that she \u201cwould be forced to move\u201d if Gotion comes to town.<\/p>\n

Lithium batteries are displayed in the workshop of a lithium battery manufacturing company in Anhui Province, China, on Nov. 14, 2020. (STR\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Mrs. LaMore is also concerned about the health hazards to Manteno residents. She pointed out that the proposed facility isn\u2019t far from residential subdivisions on both sides of Interstate 57.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf there\u2019s a leak, and it gets into our water, we\u2019re doomed,\u201d she told The Epoch Times.<\/p>\n

Locals also worry about what the prevailing westerlies could carry into town from the Gotion facility. <\/strong>The proposed plant is on the west side of town and almost directly west of an elementary school.<\/p>\n

Another Gotion critic, Bob Forsythe, questioned the safety of operating a lithium battery plant so close to rock quarry blasting activity.<\/p>\n

Shannyn Dockery, known as the “butterfly lady,\u201d fears that wastewater from the plant could imperil endangered or otherwise significant plants and animals in the region. Those unique flora and fauna include the Kankakee mallow, a flowering plant with a native range restricted to a single island in the Kankakee River, Langham Island.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are also talking about monarch butterflies,\u201d she said, noting that monarchs regularly migrate through the area.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy house is a monarch waystation. I have plants specifically for the monarchs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ms. Dockery worries that Mr. Pritzker\u2019s power over the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Board could affect how the state assesses those potential threats as it moves closer to approving Gotion\u2019s plan. Board members are appointed<\/a> by the governor.<\/p>\n

Fran Ludwig and Bob Forsythe, two of the many local residents who have organized against a proposed Gotion electric vehicle battery plant, in Manteno, Ill., on Dec. 13, 2023. (Nathan Worcester\/The Epoch Times)<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

Wider Opposition<\/h2>\n

Manteno isn\u2019t the first place Gotion and its political sponsors have met with citizen resistance.<\/p>\n

The company already faced backlash from residents in Green Charter Township, Michigan, where township board members were recalled<\/a> in November over a Gotion battery plant proposal.<\/p>\n

Jeff Peticolas, a Michigander who opposes the plant there, told The Epoch Times that he\u2019s upset that the Gotion plans have been \u201cdropped on unsuspecting little townships and villages, towns that didn\u2019t see it coming.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the rest here…<\/strong><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Tyler Durden<\/a><\/span>
\nTue, 12\/26\/2023 – 21:00<\/span><\/p>\n

\u200bhttps:\/\/www.zerohedge.com\/political\/our-town-inside-small-town-battle-against-giant-chinese-battery-plant<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n

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