Janesville’s City Manager is asking General Motors to help establish a “legacy fund” to honor the company’s history in the community. GM operated a plant in the city from 1919 to 2008, employing as many as seven-thousand workers at its peak. The Gazette has obtained a letter from City Manager Mark Freitag to GM’s CEO suggesting a $25 million gift to establish a fund intended to enhance economic revitalization and sustain community development. In the letter, Freitag used the past philanthropy of the Parker Pen Company as an example to follow. GM officials say the company is reviewing the letter.
