Rock Island County, Ill. (KWQC) – Governor JB Pritzker stopped in Rock Island as part of his campaign tour across the state. During his speech, he brought up funding projects passed in the QCA while he’s been governor, but the biggest issue he tackled was the Tyson facility in Joslin closing its doors with next to no notice.

Impactful layoffs

On August 13, Tyson announced it would lay off more than 2500 workers with next to no notice. Workers were told they would get a paycheck for the next two months. The economic loss to the QCA and state will be significant, which is why Pritzker brough it up during his campaign stop in Rock Island.

“Soaring input costs and a historic cattle shortage have driven the Tyson plant in Joslin to close alongside the Tyson plants in Utah and Washington State,” Pritzker said. “My administration is working relentlessly to support laid off workers. Frankly, I picked up the phone, and I called the UFCW leader there and I called the CEO of Tyson and I said, ‘what can we do to get that plant back open again?’ The Tyson folks said, ‘We want to sell the plant. We’ll sell it as soon as possible if we can find a buyer,’ so you know what? The state of Illinois is working like hell to find one.”

KWQC put a list of resources together for people impacted by the Tyson closure. You can find that list HERE.