* Crain’s on a lawsuit filed in Kankakee County to stop the Gotion plan…

Chinese battery maker Gotion announced a year ago that it would convert a vacant Kmart distribution center into a $2 billion factory that would eventually employ 2,600 people. It was a signature victory in Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s plan to put Illinois at the center of the move to electric vehicles.

But the plant immediately sparked opposition from some residents and politicians, including former gubernatorial candidate Jeanne Ives, who questioned whether Gotion has ties to the Communist Party of China. A similar backlash occurred over the company’s plan to build a factory near Grand Rapids, Mich.

After the plant was approved by the Manteno Village Board, a group called Concerned Citizens of Manteno filed the lawsuit. Among other things, the group claims the village violated its own rules in allowing the project, says the plant will use toxic chemicals that are not allowed under local zoning provisions, and worries that truck traffic will cause health problems to residents and decrease the value of nearby homes.

Kankakee Circuit Court Judge Lindsay Parkhurst ruled in favor of the village to dismiss several counts because the suit, as she put it, is convoluted and “reads like a novel or a thesis” that did not properly state claims with specific facts showing violations of law or injury by plaintiffs.

* More from Judge Lindsay Parkhurst via the Kankakee Daily Journal…

In summary of her decision, Parkhurst wrote “The complaint is unanswerable because it does not set out separate causes of action for each defendant, is convoluted, contains surplusage, contains excessive and unnecessary verbiage and allegations, and is not clear and concise. The complaint reads like a novel or thesis rather than a well [pleaded] complaint with specific short, concise allegations that can be admitted or denied.”

Judge Parkhurst, a former Republican state legislator, did leave the door open to file an amended lawsuit, but that new complaint will have to look totally different than the one originally filed…

“The court cautions such amended count must allege specific fact to support allegations the rezoning caused a special damage and was arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable and bore no substantial relation to public health, safety, or general welfare or in some other way violated Citizens’ constitutional rights. These cannot be mere general conclusions of law or fact. The count must allege specific and ultimate fact to support the allegations.” […]

“If you’re going to allege that Gotion is violating federal laws, you’re going to have to cite those laws,” she said. “Then that might be an issue for removal of the federal court, but you’re going to have to tighten up your pleadings. If I get another complaint like the one I got, it’s going to be dismissed right away.”

The lawsuit is here. The judge’s ruling is here.