Pritzker’s Love for EVs is Failing Illinois
Pritzker-supported Lion Electric faces liquidation, auction. The Montreal-based firm won strong support from Governor Pritzker when it announced plans to open an assembly plant near Joliet. The May 2021 announcement came with promises that Illinois would be Lion’s hub location for the manufacturing of its signature product, an electric battery-powered school bus. The plant was expected to create up to 1,400 new jobs. Lion quickly borrowed money and opened an assembly-line-scaled factory in July 2023, with Gov. Pritzker present for the ribbon-cutting.
Although Lion operated in Channahon, Illinois in 2023-2024, almost no school district anywhere in the U.S. bought Lion Electric’s new school buses. The schedule of a school bus, which includes heavy use and frequent stops and starts, proved not to be ideally suited to electric vehicle operations. After hiring workers and starting up its assembly lines, Lion found itself faced with an almost immediate cash flow crunch. Lenders demanded their money back and the cash-strapped manufacturer began an insolvency process. The new factory shut down, the workers were laid off, and the troubled firm offered itself for sale.
This week, an insolvency court-appointed monitor reported to the court and to Lion Electric’s creditors that no reasonable offer has been received for Lion Electric’s assets that would enable the troubled firm to resume operations under a new owner. Submission of this report enabled the creditors to commence the immediate liquidation of the company’s assets. A report suggests that the Channahon plant’s equipment will be sold off at a public auction to be held on May 15. Completion of the Channahon auction will leave behind a 900,000-square foot empty facility.
Press Release – Friday, May 07, 2021
“Lion’s historic investment to bring its largest production facility to Illinois represents not only a win for our communities, but a strong step forward in our work to expand clean energy alternatives and the jobs they bring to our communities,” said Governor JB Pritzker. “The new Joliet facility will put Illinois at the forefront of a national movement to transition to zero-emission vehicle use, advancing our own goals of putting one million of these cars on the road by 2030. In Illinois, we know that a clean energy economy is about more than just vehicles – it’s about healthier communities and jobs for those who live there. We are excited to welcome Lion to the Land of Lincoln and look forward to their future success here.”
Full release: Gov. Pritzker Joins Lion Electric to Announce Company’s Plans to Bring First-Ever U.S. Manufacturing Facility to Illinois
State Rep. Chris Miller issued this statement:
“Pritzker was so happy to talk about a “win” for communities, and less than five years later, Lion Electric is dead broke and selling everything they own,” said Miller. “Illinois is wasting money on pushing a radical agenda that Illinois residents oppose, yet Pritzker continues to double-down on his fantasy land dream of having zero-emission vehicle use in Illinois.”