Members of the Illinois Freedom Caucus rally in Manteno

Posted on October 3, 2023
State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City). (WJBC file photo)

By Dave Dahl

MANTENO – “I’ve got a feeling that Manteno’s not for sale!”

With that, State Rep. Chris Miller (R-Oakland) – chair of the Illinois Freedom Caucus – led cheers against Gov. Pritzker’s tax incentive deal to land batterymaker Gotion, whose parent company is Chinese.

And don’t tell State Rep. Blaine Wilhour (R-Beecher City) about the promised 2,600 jobs: “This isn’t driven from an economic perspective,” he said. “It’s driven by a radical ideology. Doing business with the (Chinese Communist Party) is basically like doing business with the Unabomber.”

The representatives who traveled from central and southern Illinois to Kankakee County say Pritzker’s wrong to do business with China and also accuse him of overpaying in incentives – and not being transparent.

Pritzker, in a recent letter to a Republican opponent of the deal, said, “You and your members express your opposition to a major economic development announcement, and that can only be seen as doubling down on your own irrelevance.”

Dave Dahl can be reached at [email protected]

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