GRANITE CITY, Illinois — News got around quickly in this town across the Mississippi from St. Louis: The steel mill's death knell was sounding again, and this time, the end might really be near.
At the Daylight Donuts down the street from the plant, a group of regulars relayed what they knew. One man said the city would suffer if the plant were to close. Another said there was still time for the deal to fail. One woman said she was hopeful her husband would be one of the few hundred plant employees to keep his job under a new operator.
Meanwhile, Michael DeBruce, who owns the Park Grill café several blocks away, hustled to deliver orders to a steady crowd in packed booths. The plant's closure was still at top of mind, he said. He'd heard from friends about plans to shut down most of the line, putting roughly 1,000 people out of work. It'd ripple through the community, he said, to businesses like his and all the area contractors who provide services to the mill.
