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Caterpillar, Gov. Quinn continue to spar over jobs

3 months ago

Caterpillar CEO says Illinois business climate must improve

Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman wrote an op-ed for the Chicago Tribune and said while the company has no plans to leave Illinois, the state must do more for business if it wants Caterpillar and other companies to expand in the state.

Oberhelman: Despite the fact that we announced plans for dozens of new factories in the last few years and our United States workforce increased by more than 14,500 in the past 10 years, we haven't opened a new factory in Illinois in decades. Our Illinois workforce is at the same level it was 10 years ago. Caterpillar recently informed several Illinois communities that they are not in the running for a new factory we will build in the U.S., ultimately adding 1,400 jobs — work that's now done in Japan. In that case, logistics was a key factor, but even if it were not the case, when Caterpillar and most other companies look to locate a new factory in the U.S., Illinois is not in the running.

Click here to read the entire piece.

Quinn responded on Sunday.

From chicagobusiness:

The comments from the head of the Peoria-based heavy equipment maker came on the heels of the company's decision to bypass Illinois as it looks to build a new plant — and create 1,400 jobs — to handle work being relocated from Japan. Quinn also recently named Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman to an export advisory council.

Quinn, who touted an improved business climate earlier this month in his State of the State address, said he was disappointed in Oberhelman's comments and that Illinois has enacted reforms and tax credits to create jobs. He said Caterpillar officials told him the facility would need ocean access.

"We don't have any oceanfront property in Illinois, so with that particular facility we weren't in the ball game to begin with," Quinn said Sunday at an unrelated news conference. "We met with the Caterpillar people and they made it pretty clear that the logistics would drive the decision."