A worker prepares to move an energy-storage system at Gotion Illinois in Manteno on Oct. 1, 2025. The battery manufacturing plant has plans to expand its workforce to 450 jobs by the end of 2025, with the goal of reaching 1,400 jobs in 2026. (Tiffany Blanchette)
Tiffany Blanchette has been a photojournalist with the Daily Journal since 2014 and Photo Editor since 2018. She has won awards for her work from the Illinois Press Association and the National Press Photographers Association. She enjoys covering everything from news to sports in the very community she grew up in.