GRANITE CITY, Ill. (WAND) — For steel worker Justin Chism, it's a family tradition reignited.
"My dad worked here for 40 years," Chism said. "My brother has been here 24 years."
Chism has worked in steel for two decades. But his career and 1100 others were almost extinguished when the blast furnaces shuttered in Granite City.
"It was pretty crazy, especially when you've got kids at home who don't know what you're going to do," he said.
Granite City Works shut down its two blast furnaces in December 2015. U.S. Steel brought the first furnace back online in June. The second is due back in October.
The company says 800 jobs will come back to the area — all thanks to new tariffs on foreign steel that make domestic steel more competitive.
"[President Trump] is doing a great job for everybody," Chism said.
Trump addressed a crowd of steel workers and supporters in Granite City Thursday. His main focus: trade and tariffs.
"Together we're sending a message to our foreign competitors," Trump said. "The days of plundering American jobs and wealth...those days are over."
But not everyone is sold on the president's plan. Some farmers fear retaliatory tariffs will plow through their profits. The biggest concern: China's crackdown on U.S. soybeans.
President Trump proposed a possible multi-billion dollar stimulus plan to offset losses for soybean farmers. But some farming families, like Paula Shelton's, aren't convinced.
"It's a joke because we don't want it," Shelton said. "We don't want to take money from the taxpayers."
But for Chism, his views have already been molded and hardened by the molten metal once again flowing in Illinois.
"It's a once in a lifetime opportunity," he said. "It's awesome."
