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Manteno residents press board over Goshen plant safety, transparency
Summary
Dozens of residents used public comment at the March 17 Manteno Village Board meeting to raise safety, transparency and financial concerns about the Goshen High‑tech facility; Trustee Joel Geske gave staffing and emergency‑response updates and disputed several claims made by opponents.
Dozens of residents pressed the Manteno Village Board on March 17 over the proposed Goshen High‑tech facility, raising concerns about public‑safety risks, tax abatements and the board’s transparency while trustees and staff described training, hiring and emergency‑response planning.
The comments opened with a lengthy reading of language the speaker said came from Goshen’s corporate documents, including the line, “The company shall set up a party organization to carry out party activities,” which the commenter, Ryan McAfee, used to argue the firm had ties to the Chinese Communist Party. Multiple other residents raised related concerns about hazardous chemicals, Material Safety Data Sheets and the lack of pre‑construction environmental studies.
Why it matters: The Goshen project has become the dominant topic in town discussions and the March 17 public‑comment period. Residents asked the board to produce technical reports, named local financial impacts (including a cited $2,000,000 tax‑abatement figure), and demanded clearer, earlier disclosure…
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