Kenosha County executive says Eli Lilly expansion is ‘critical to our area’

Drug manufacturer Eli Lilly announced last week it will be investing $3 billion to expand a manufacturing facility located in Pleasant Prairie, in Kenosha County. 

This will be the biggest investment the company has made outside its home state of Indiana. According to the company, construction of the new facility will create about 2,000 jobs, and the facility itself will hire 750 people. 

At a press conference on Dec. 5, company CEO David Ricks, Gov. Tony Evers and other officials celebrated the plan. However, some farmers in Pleasant Prairie say they’re concerned about what it means for the future of their land. 

WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” spoke with Kenosha County Executive Samantha Kerkman about the news. 

The following has been edited for clarity and brevity. 

Rob Ferrett: Seven-hundred-and-fifty jobs for the plant itself and 2,000 construction jobs. Put that in context. How big a deal is that for Kenosha County? 

Samantha Kerkman: This is huge. Over the past decade, we’ve added about 13,000 jobs in Kenosha County, so just adding another 750 family-supporting skilled jobs is critical to our area. 

RF: I know in some communities around Wisconsin, there are problems with having enough workforce to meet current job demand. Will Eli Lilly have to import people, in effect, to Kenosha County to fill these positions?

SK: Workforce is one of those challenges that we face. We’re working together with our local educational partners, both at the high school level and the two-year degree — Gateway Technical College System — here in our area. And then our higher educational facilities that we have: UW-Parkside, Carthage College and Herzing University. We have access to a lot of higher educational facilities, and people are coming here instead of leaving the county.

RF: When people hear about a big development coming into the community, they might think, “Well, wait a minute. Are we paying for it?” Is the county itself providing incentives to Eli Lilly for this expansion? 

SK: No, I mean, we’re a partnership here. We have a lot of great amenities and infrastructure that have been put in. Those are the things that attracted Lily here, as well as our workforce. I had the opportunity to speak to Lilly CEO David Ricks last week, and he is really excited about getting the building up and operational as soon as we can.

RF: Eli Lilly has purchased some land in the area to expand out into. What is the footprint of this project looking like?

SK: They made their purchase from a Nexus research and development manufacturer that built that building back between 2017 and 2019. So that is their main footprint right now. They are purchasing some land just to the west of there, in the village of Bristol. So the original facility is in Pleasant Prairie, and now the second phase will be in the village of Bristol. All located in Kenosha County. 

RF: Do you see yourself as a partner with other counties in the region — on the same team, as opposed to, “Hey, we’re fighting to get this project on our side of that county line“?

SK: Late Racine County Executive Jonathan Delgrave and I have been working together since I’ve been in this role three years ago, and I look forward to working with the new county exec once they’re elected in Racine County. Just yesterday, I met with the County Board Chair in McHenry County, Illinois, because I think we have to put our differences aside and look for things that we can work together on, be it workforce, infrastructure, you name it. We need to work together, because that’s what makes our community stronger.