What does it cost to bribe employers to come to Illinois. Does anybody care?
Echoing Gov. JB Pritzker’s frequent boasting about the Stellantis plant expansion Pritzker announced in October for Belvidere, IL, Pres. Joe Biden in his State of the Union address said this yesterday:
A great comeback story is Belvidere, Illinois. Home to an auto plant for nearly 60 years. Before I came to office the plant was on its way to shutting down. Thousands of workers feared for their livelihoods. Hope was fading. Then I was elected to office and we raised Belvidere repeatedly with the auto company knowing unions make all the difference…. Instead of an auto factory shutting down an auto factory is re-opening and a new state-of-the art battery factory is being built to power those cars. Instead of a town being left behind it’s a community moving forward again! Because instead of watching auto jobs of the future go overseas 4,000 union workers with higher wages will be building that future, in Belvidere, here in America!
There’s just one problem: We still have no idea how much Illinois and federal taxpayers will have to pay Stellantis for the project.
Both Pritzker and the White House “declined” in October to tell Crain’s how big the state’s incentive package will be, nor do we know what the federal government will be putting in.
“It’s not yet clear how much money the feds or state and local governments will give Stellantis to rebuild and expand Belvidere,” said a Crain’s piece about how the Biden Administration helped get the deal, but the cost to Illinois taxpayers is “likely to be larger than the $536 million deal for Gotion Hi-Tech’s battery-assembly plant in Manteno,” wrote Crain’s.
Nobody in Illinois media I can find has even asked about taxpayer cost, aside from Crain’s.
On a different deal, Pritzker was at it again yesterday. “Gov. Pritzker Celebrates Primient’s $400M Capital Investment in Illinois’ Plant-Based Future” — that’s the headline on his press release. Primient is getting an EDGE program tax credit but the amount was not disclosed. That will be in the EDGE agreement that “will be on this site when executed,” the press release says.
Please, President Biden and Governor Pritzker, don’t go bragging about new projects until you will tell us how much you are paying. If the deal isn’t inked yet, wait to announce it until it is.
Maybe the attitude of Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates is becoming the norm. This week, about the cost of her union’s contract demands, she said, “Stop asking that question. Ask another question.”
-Mark Glennon
UPDATE 3/9/24: Crain’s now reports that the State of Illinois is negotiating an incentive package for Rivian to produce its new bet-the-company R2 model in its Illinois plant instead of its massively subsidized plant in Georgia.
Audio and summary 
If this bill passes, say goodbye to local control over all Illinois parks and expect to see open drug and alcohol use, needles, no sanitation and fire hazards, but no ordinary park users.
Why would any company set up shop in IL unless it received massive taxpayer subsidies?
The Illinois press is now standing obediently in line hoping for the up and coming taxpayer provided subsidies Pritzker has been hinting at. Therefore there will be no press on the matter as the media transitions into a propaganda outlet for Pritzker.
Are you saying an elected Democrat in Illinois would hide the truth from the public. I’m shocked…shocked!
Certainly one of the political reporters in Illinois will ask JB about this at his next self congratulatory press conference, right?
Will Gotion construction be monitored for spy cameras?
Illinois has pretty harsh anti-recording laws (depending on who’s being taped, perhaps); will civil rights be suspended similarly to suspension of OMA in Manteno?
https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/07/politics/congressional-probe-communications-gear-chinese-cranes/index.html
Has JB blown thru his $400 mil taxpayer funded “closing deal” fund? Do dopey taxpayers have any way to find out?
No, you cannot find out. You now live in a state-run economy with no questions answered, so just shut up.
Mark, is there any way we can get things like term limits, ranked choice voting, public financing of campaigns, true transparency,,real ethics rules with harsh penalties for violation? is there any way some of these things could be accomplished with a voter referendum? I realize there are so many people at the trough, but surely there are enough to get some of these things done. Also, we need a vibrant third party, even a fourth. These clowns need some competition. The media runs interference for these clowns in exchange for access. Also, I’d like your honest opinion. Did Jeanne Ives… Read more »
Citizen initiated referendums face a huge petition requirement making them very difficult. I am afraid the only solutions are elections and countering the distortions of MSM. Initially, I think it’s a hearts-and-minds battle, which is why we do this. Regarding Ives, she clearly had the GOP nomination ripped off by Rauner. Rauner funded a massive ad campaign downstate saying she was a Madigan supporter, which was nonsense. That was enough to turn the primary election against her. She’d have had a tough time against Pritzker, however, as anybody would have given Pritzker’s spending and the sentiment of the state at… Read more »