Illinois Governor to Talk With Firestone Official

Illinois Gov. George Ryan will meet with Firestone Chief Executive John Lampe today to try to persuade Bridgestone Corp., Firestone’s parent, not to close a plant that made many of the tires involved in a huge product recall that are allegedly linked to 203 deaths from traffic accidents.

Ryan and Lampe will be joined by U.S. Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) at the meeting in the governor’s Springfield office.

Ryan is not optimistic that Firestone will alter plans to close the Decatur, Ill., factory, which employs 1,350 workers, said Ryan’s spokesman, Dennis Culloton.

Bridgestone said in late June that it planned to close the factory and added the decision was unrelated to the recall of 6.5 million tires last year.

Firestone tires fitted mainly on Ford Explorer sport-utility vehicles have been blamed for hundreds of accidents. Firestone and Ford Motor Co. have blamed each other for the deaths.

Firestone spokeswoman Jill Bratina said no final decision had been made about the closure.

The plant is the oldest of the company’s seven North American facilities, built in 1942 to make tanks for World War II and operated by Firestone as a tire plant since 1963.