Kankakee Times

Manteno resident Julie Holda is praying every day that a Chinese Communist Party-linked lithium-ion battery plant for Manteno will not be built.

Holda is one of several residents who have voiced their concerns over the effect such a plant would have on local residents.

“I’m very angry that our country would even let this happen, that China, communist China would even be allowed to do this,” Holda told Kankakee Times.

“I don’t even think we should be fighting this fight. I think it should have never happened. I actually just went over to the property because I go to the property every day to pray and there’s some buses over there right now. I don’t know what’s going on over there, but it’s just crazy.”

“First of all, communist China they’re acting like we should be also happy to the 2,600 jobs to be coming here. Well, we all know that we’re probably not really getting those jobs if anybody would even want that job. But I mean, who wants to work in a communist China plant? I’m sure as not to be paying well and you’re endangering your life. And we in a plant like this going on and that is what it’s going to do to the whole environment.

Holda said she moved to Nanteno only two years ago and does not want to move.

“I can’t say that I have the means to move but I could if I need to,” she said.

“It’s just me, but what about all these people, you know, who lived here and the grandkids, Their families?”

Holda points to Manteno Mayor Timothy Nugent who is currently in his fifth term in office.

“Our mayor is rotten,” she said. “Really after talking to people, nobody really likes him. He is very crooked. I found out for myself he is very crooked and doesn’t care about this town at all with everything. Everything happens secretly.”

“At the board meeting, nobody can ask a question and get any answers. All you can do is you make a three-minute statement. It’s just totally, totally ridiculous that this can even go on in this country.”

Local residents have come together to hire Minnapolis-based attorney Robby Dube to represent them against the Village of Manteno and Gotion.

“Like I said, I go there every day to pray for God to send the Davids to fight the Goliath. (Dube) said, ‘We have a Goliath to fight’ and I just took that as a sign from God that he’s here with us,” she said.

The Illinois Freedom Caucus, along with local residents and supporters, is set to host a press conference on Oct. 2 to voice opposition to the battery plant planned for Manteno.

This event aims to address concerns raised by Manteno residents, including zoning regulations, property taxes, healthcare access, and potential national security implications of the Chinese company’s generous subsidies through federal tax credits, amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and China.

The controversy has drawn attention from Illinois politicians and members of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

The deal, offering substantial subsidies to Gotion, a company with CCP ties, has raised concerns about U.S. economic and national security, and some are calling for legislative changes to the 45X tax credit program.

The plant is expected to cost only $2 billion but may reap taxpayers’ subsidies worth over $8 billion.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has promoted the deal as the state’s largest investment in decades, while critics argue that American taxpayers should not support a venture that raises questions about U.S. economic and national interests.

According to Chemical & Engineering News, lithium-ion batteries, such as those that would be produced at the proposed Gotion plant, contain various toxic and hazardous materials, including heavy metals like cobalt, nickel, and lithium.

If these materials leach into the environment, they can contaminate soil and groundwater, posing threats to ecosystems and potentially impacting human health.