GRANITE CITY, Ill. – President Joe Biden has come out against U.S. Steel’s proposed $14 billion sale to a Japanese company, Nippon. The deal holds major implications for Granite City and its U.S. Steel plant there.

Mayor Mike Parkinson is hoping for the best while also planning for the worst.

“I think there’s a lot of pessimistic viewpoints over there right now and fear. These people’s lives depend on this company coming in and keeping these jobs going and producing steel…there’s a lot of paychecks in this region that could be affected if we don’t ensure that this new owner does the right thing here,” he said.

However, the mayor says he has to consider the chance that the plant will shut down and eliminate its 1,250 jobs.

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“The biggest impact on our city is fear…if that plant completely shuts its doors, this town will become a ghost town,” Parkinson said. “I want to ensure that our citizens of Granite City know that we’re moving in other directions…we’re already looking at a new development of industry.”

He stresses that this is not just a Granite City issue; it could cause problems throughout the entire region.

Granite City has been home to the steel plant for decades. 4,700 people were employed at the location in the 1970s, and that number has dwindled over time.

“Is it the end of our city? Absolutely not, not as long as I’m sitting in this chair,” Parkinson said. “It’s more of a crisis for the United States to think that we’re losing a steel industry in this country.”

All the city can do right now is wait and see if the deal moves forward or not.

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