Conservatives stoking fear over  Illinois EV battery plant that promises 2,600 jobs

MANTENO, Ill. -- On a recent weekday afternoon, Kevin Fregeau sat at the bar inside the Back Forty Saloon on Main Street, pondering what’s ahead as plans move forward on the state’s largest-ever investment in electric vehicle battery production, a plant that could create 2,600 jobs in the village. Will there be enough housing for all those workers in a town of about 9,000 people, 40 miles south of Chicago? Would the area be equipped to safely handle the hazardous materials required for lithium battery production? And then he raised one more question: What about the plant’s ownership ties to Ch...