By: Ted Dabrowski
Gov. J.B. Pritzker said critics of his decision to provide taxpayer financing to Gotion, Inc., a Chinese electric vehicle battery maker with CCP ties, are “xenophobes” and “MAGA Republicans.” That’s ironic given that some of the most urgent warnings about China on spying, intelligence and supply chain risks come from the top of his very own Democratic party.
Pritzker lured Gotion into Illinois only after losing 18 other EV investment opportunities to other states. Pritzker closed the deal with the lithium battery maker by agreeing to a $536 million subsidy package, including $213 million in tax benefits, $125 million from the state lending program Invest in Illinois, as well as a 30-year local property tax freeze.
The Illinois plant also will be eligible for $7.5 billion in federal subsidies over five years. The deal was negotiated and closed by the governor with no transparency and no local-resident input.
The list of top-level democrats deeply concerned about China is long. President Biden’s own FBI head, Christopher Wray, has warned that there’s “no country – underline no country – that represents a broader, more severe counterintelligence threat to the United States than the People’s Republic of China.”
Wray was on 60 Minutes last week warning of “China’s global espionage campaign.” He told Scott Pelley, “We have seen efforts by the Chinese government, directly or indirectly, trying to steal intellectual property, trade secrets, personal data – all across the country. We’re talking everything – from Fortune 100 companies, all to smaller startups.”
Then there’s Biden’s Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines. She says “China is…pushing to revise global norms in ways that favor the authoritarian Chinese system.” Biden’s Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also warns of China’s “increasingly coercive actions to reshape the Indo-Pacific region and the international system to fit its authoritarian preferences.”
Even an Illinois Democrat, U.S. Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, says “The goal of the CCP has become clear: to displace U.S. and other competitors, especially in tomorrow’s strategic industries.”
The risks in the Gotion deal are not trivial. The Wall Street Journal recently reiterated that Gotion President Li Chen has deep ties to the Chinese Communist Party, which raises legitimate questions about Gotion’s ultimate allegiances.
Questions remain for many Illinoisans, including those from Illinois’ Senate Minority Leader, linked here, to those from local residents in Manteno. Why are we giving a Chinese company with CCP ties $8 billion in American taxpayer subsidies for a $2 billion factory? Why hasn’t there been any transparency regarding the transaction and any of the agreements reached? What has been vetted regarding security, environmental and economic risks? Why have Manteno residents been kept in the dark?
Unfortunately, Gov. Pritzker continues to dismiss concerns over Gotion – even those of his own party leaders. Are they, too, “Xenophobes?” and “MAGA Republicans?”
Read more on Gotion from Wirepoints:
- Federal taxpayers will fund billions more than actual cost of Illinois battery plant to be owned by Chinese company with alleged CCP ties
- Emerging scandal: Why are we giving $8 billion to Chinese company with CCP ties to build a $2 billion IL battery factory?
- Demand answers from Illinois officials on Gotion’s links to Chinese Communist Party and its grossly over-subsidized Manteno project
- Pritzker resorts to labeling – false labeling – to fend off criticism of his Chinese communist-linked project in Illinois
- Gotion’s Illinois-China Controversy Reaches Presidential Candidate Platform; National Attention Expands
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.
Pritzker is an open door to bad actors, which he understands so well. He is all about himself and his twisted thinking. He is the reason so many are leaving Illinois. There is no hope for a better Illinois while Pritzker leads.👎
He absolutely is the reason people are leaving. Maybe it was coincidence but a number of houses in my neighborhood went up for sale when he won his second term. Most people don’t list their house for sale in November.
“Shuning” is a thing.
Obvious question is whether JB is a Chinese operative himself.
Cap Fax has an article today titled, “The CCS Opportunity in Illinois.”
Now they should do one titled, “The CCP Opportunity in Illinois.”
It’s an advertisement not an article. Why don’t you pay Miller for an ad with that title. I’m sure he would be happy to take your money.
I’m sure he would, PPF, as Rich has proven to be quite the opportunist.
Pritzker shuns warnings from Biden. Is he more narcissistic than Biden? That’s
frightening. Pritzker believes he is the smartest guy in the room. He knows better than everybody else and he’ll do what he thinks is best for himself, screw the rest of us. There is something in this Chinese decision for him. Just like any other Illinois politician, he wouldn’t be doing this unless there was a quid pro quo. Shows you just how inept and dangerous he is if he is believing Chinese promises.
I think we should listen to the warnings
My God…when are people going to stop voting these people into office. Nothing changes when they are in office. Nothing. The state is in the same position, same pension problem, same budget issues, same…everything since this jackass was elected. Could we try and do something different…could it be worse? Sheesh.
Because the problem with Illinois isn’t the politicians, the problem with Illinois are the people. It’s your gubmit union employee neighbor with the big pension, he and his family all vote Democrat. It’s the AWFL (affluent white female liberal) on the north shore, and her soy-boy husband, who believe that ripping apart with scalpels a fully grown newborn sliding out the birth canal is ‘healthcare’; it’s the church ladies in Englewood who vote straight ticket Democrat every election, and vote for all their kids too at the ballot; it’s the ridiculous number of ISU grad elementary school teachers throughout the… Read more »
Yep, it just so sad that people are that stupid.
Some are stupid, yes, but others are voting strictly on tribal aka intersectional criteria. They think like this: “I ______ (black, brown, LGBTQPedophile, etc) so therefore I must vote Democrat”. The only thing holding this coalition together is their pure hatred for deplorable whites and their conservative values. I’m not joking, democrats never say “They’re good people but we disagree politically”. They say, from the top of the party to the foot soliders “they are fascist racists who are a threat to democracy and must be imprisoned or killed”. Now in within that group of intersectional identities, there is much… Read more »
Saved this one for later, spot on Debstor
Those same people don’t see the consequences of their voting. Those that do, have left or are leaving. Meanwhile, they stay behind and good luck paying the piper.
At least on crime, there is a massive split in consequences of voting. Soft on crime is wildly popular in black and brown communities. I’m not exaggerating. Overwhelming support for soft on crime policies. Minorities have been told for a decade or more that the systemically racist criminal justice system unfairly punishes black and brown people, and now they’re getting the exact opposite of that, a system where minorities are really going unpunished for more crimes, even some of the most violent and abhorrent crimes. Minorities LOVE it and keep voting for it. They’d rather live in a high crime… Read more »
You are really on your soapbox today, love your analysis. You staying or are you gone?
I got time this morning before the football games start, then you won’t be hearing much from me until Tuesday morning, LOL
Love the Soy-Boy comment
Purchase an office if you’re a billionaire perhaps?
Here is a good article from ZeroHedge about the concerns and who is having them. JB reminds me of Alfred Neuman “What, me worry?” https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/unprecedented-human-history-five-eyes-intelligence-chiefs-sound-alarm-chinas
Why don’t democrats like Pritzker want to make America great again?
Because they don’t know how to make America great again.
When America regains prominence, Dems won’t be able to peddle their gospel of D.E.I., gender ideology, critical race theory, systemic racism, open borders and the rest of their woke nonsense.
And where would they be without their nonsense?
And I firmly believe it’s coming soon.
We are certainly past peak woke with the general public. The Bud Light and Target and Disney fiascos changed the consumer dynamic. I bet you didn’t know that Bud Light’s sales are STILL dropping; and Target’s sales still haven’t recovered, and Disney is suffering big time, with even South Park getting in on the roasting so awful, they might never recover. Woke however is still entrenched in the institutions, and like committed Viet Cong hiding in fox holes, anti-wokeness is in for a longer battle. Woke has doubled down in academia in light of the recent rulings that affirmative action… Read more »
I wish that someone could tie JB into a chair and force him to watch last Sunday’s “60 Minutes” episode. The CCP’s insidious espionage campaign touches every aspect of USA industry and commerce; Xi demands it.
My experience with China – If they are in a position to steal and don’t, it’s a sign of weakness. That’s the culture now.
I have no doubt that he and his staff know and are taking it seriously, despite their comments.
Then what explains Gotion in Mendota?
The odds of the Gotion plant ever being built are slim. This was purely a PR scam that JB is pulling. Remember the FoxConn factory a few miles north of the border that never got built either?
He miscalculated the reaction and apparently didn’t do his homework. Now, we understand, he is working hard to head off problems he knows he has with it.
Proof that money can’t buy smarts – but it goes a long way in securing a gubernatorial position.
It would be different if Pritzker acquired his wealth via individual efforts, brains, creative ingenuity, and hard work. His wealth was entirely inherited, resulting in a trust fund ne’er-do-well masquerading as a businessman.
And Illinois voters chose him to lead … not once, but TWICE.
What a bunch of unthinking Dem clones.
Hasn’t IL already signed documents with Gotion finalizing the deal? If so, I think it would cost IL (aka the IL taxpayer) a huge amount of money to nix the deal.
Once again proving he was born on third base & though he hit a triple. An arrogant a$$.
Our political grifters in IL are always so hungry for the secret payoffs that they will give the whole state away if it suits them.
He won’t back down. He is so desperate to land a big tech deal he will do anything to keep it alive. His all out effort to land EV production, batter production and any big tech catch has been a total bust so far. He will take any deal he can get, even if it is with an obvious an enemy of his own country and owned by Chinese Commies.
He must feel that he needs the big tech deal for the headlines it will garner him on his perceived path to the Presidency. We can see how this works with the Tribune’s headlines regarding the plant that did not disclose the all of the financial details in true Tribune style.
Baby Huey continues to ignore the truth and would rather work on name calling and trying to find the best supply of toilets.
His minions is a great example of affable insanity or uncontrolled insanity as we all go
Down the drain of stupidity
Big JB has more than a Billion in his personal kick. China must have come up with huge buck to keep him on their side.
The could grant Pritzker or one of his family members favorable access in Chinese markets. This might sound somewhat benign, but closer examination reveals the true capabilities of the CCP. The possibilities for corruption, coercion and back room deals are endless in the Chinese communist system. One of the most striking features of the Chinese system is the lack of judicial independence. Their judicial system reports directly to the CCP and there’s no system of checks and balances to prevent corruption. Wikipedia explains: The judicial branch, organized under the constitution and organic law, is one of five organs of state… Read more »
Just like the Biden’s.
Solution: Israel: take a hostile buyout and bug out. World nations spend more annually on aid/war than it would cost them to purchase clear title to land in your country and give it to whomever they wish. Then what? Israelis: BUY ILLINOIS on the cheap! Illinois is a vast sinkhole of value, an undeveloped wasteland under current management. Buy clear title to land from willing sellers, enjoy building a GDP without spending most of it on civil defense of life (Iowa and Wisconsin not likely to lob human or other missiles into Illinois). Illinois has vast underutilized resources (water, land,… Read more »
The Gotion deal crosses over not just ‘bright lines’, but guard rails also. It’s a bad deal for America. No deal is better than a bad deal. Will need to be stopped at the Federal level. Shocked the UAW has rolled over on this one.
Pritzker could care less about Biden because it is his goal to simply use him as a stepping stone on his travels along the road to become “king” of the USA. To me the saddest thing is however its not so much Pritzker’s selling the country out but rather the people that vote to provide him the avenue to provide him with his personal goals
Fat Fredo is desperate to make something of himself. His family won’t let him near the family business because he’s got a room temperature IQ. So he’s chasing after anything that gets him noticed, no matter how badly it will hurt the state or the country. He’s pathetic.
Pritzker would make a deal with anyone if it gives him a chance to have a press conference and pose like the king he thinks he is. He keeps his list of derogatory names handy to label anyone who disagrees with him. On a daily basis he makes one ridiculous unsupported claim after another about how Illinois is the best at some imaginary metric. Yesterday he said Illinois was the best state to raise a family. Try not to spit your coffee out when you read that whopper.
He didn’t call them Carnival Barkers as well? Jumbo Belly is slipping.
The rest of the world is trying to cut its dependency/partnerships with China (for good reason) while Pritzker sees China as a mentor. Apparently, nobody has told the gov that China’s economic model is unsustainable and already starting to implode. Oh well, I guess the Illinois gov is smarter than the rest of the world leaders and knows what he is doing.
Domestic communists love international communists.