East Central Reporter

Gov. J.B. Pritzker's allocation of tax dollars to a Chinese battery company has sparked outrage. U.S. Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) argues that the governor's climate-conscious move contradicts his own actions, pointing to his use of a private jet and China's aggressive pursuit of coal plants.

“Governor Pritzker is giving your tax dollars to a Chinese battery company because he claims it will help the ‘climate.’ But J.B. Pritzker flies around on a private jet, and China is building TWO COAL PLANTS PER WEEK,” Miller said on Facebook.

Pritzker is facing criticism for providing significant taxpayer financing to Gotion, a Chinese electric vehicle battery maker with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, despite warnings from top Democrats, including President Joe Biden’s FBI head Christopher Wray and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines, about the risks of Chinese espionage and influence. He closed the deal with Gotion, securing a substantial subsidy package and federal subsidies, without transparency and against the concerns of fellow Democrats, raising questions about the decision’s potential security, economic and environmental risks.

The Gotion controversy involves the Chinese company’s plans to receive $8 billion in taxpayer subsidies for a $2 billion battery factory in Manteno, which has raised concerns among residents and lawmakers, according to Wirepoints. The citizens of Manteno, along with concerned Michigan and North Dakota residents, where other similar Gotion battery plants have been planned, and a U.S. House committee, are questioning the substantial taxpayer funding granted to a company with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.

The “We the People of Manteno” parade, held on Oct. 22, united the community in opposition to the proposed Chinese Communist Party-affiliated Gotion auto battery plant set to take over the old K-Mart location in Manteno. Concerned citizens, along with organizations like “Outrage of Kankakee County,” rallied to raise funds for a forthcoming legal battle against the plant, which they argue is receiving substantial tax breaks and poses health risks to the local community.

The planned Manteno Gotion plant was noted in a letter written by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar calling for a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of Gotion, Inc. due to its CCP ties and potential access to green-energy tax breaks. They expressed concerns about the extent of Chinese Communist Party control over Gotion and its impact on critical infrastructure decisions in the U.S., particularly within the state of Illinois.

“The extent of the CCP’s control over Guoxuan (Gotion) is explicitly mentioned in the company’s corporate by-laws, which require the company ‘to carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the [Chinese Communist Party],’” the letter reads.

The planned Manteno Gotion plant was noted in a letter written by U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio and U.S. Rep. John Moolenaar calling for a Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) review of Gotion, Inc. due to its CCP ties and potential access to green-energy tax breaks. They expressed concerns about the extent of Chinese Communist Party control over Gotion and its impact on critical infrastructure decisions in the U.S., particularly within the state of Illinois. 

“The extent of the CCP’s control over Guoxuan (Gotion) is explicitly mentioned in the company’s corporate by-laws, which require the company ‘to carry out Party activities in accordance with the Constitution of the [Chinese Communist Party],’” the letter reads. 

“In 2021, Guoxuan High-Tech hosted several company retreats where employees were mandated to recite a pledge of loyalty to the Party, including to ‘fight for communism.’ This is concerning, no less because the Biden Administration itself has described the PRC in its 2022 National Security Strategy as the “only competitor with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military, and technological power to do it,” and that ‘Beijing frequently uses its economic power to coerce countries.’ The CCP’s control over Guoxuan High-Tech is no exception to the Party’s strategy to exert its influence in the United States.”