Rauner tours Wheeling plant; Quinn at fertilizer factory site
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner made a stop Wednesday at the Penray Co. in Wheeling, where he called Pat Quinn "the worst governor in America" and held a short question-and-answer session with workers.
About 30 plant workers, several office employees, and other guests were in attendance as Rauner spoke against a backdrop of cases of Penray products stacked to the ceiling. He took three handwritten questions from employees.
David Sholtis, Penray CEO, and Steve Abrams, vice president of operations, took Rauner on a short tour of the plant in Wheeling to show how the company make its automotive products.
Meanwhile, Quinn was in the downstate Tuscola area to tout the planned construction of Cronus Chemicals' $1.4 billion fertilizer plant, which will employ 175 in eastern Illinois, plus 25 more employees at a Chicago headquarters.
Cronus chose Illinois over Iowa for the location of the plant and will receive $52 million in state incentives, most of it tax exemptions for the construction site and the bulk of it contingent on building the plant and operating. The package also includes $3.9 million in income-tax breaks and other benefits.
• Daily Herald news services contributed to this report.