CHAMPAIGN - Caterpillar Inc. announced Monday that it plans to spend the next several months studying ways to modernize its 45-year-old headquarters in Peoria.
The study will focus on the company's long-term needs, including its building and technology, and while there are no plans yet to add to or subtract from Caterpillar's Peoria presence, "all options are open," spokesman Rusty Dunn said.
Caterpillar has been among the sharpest critics of Illinois' state government and the management of its economy. Last year, CEO Douglas Oberhelman reminded Gov. Pat Quinn that the company has out-of-state suitors to prompt the governor to work on improving the state's economy. Oberhelman later said he wasn't threatening to leave Illinois.
Earlier this year Caterpillar chose a site in Georgia over several sites in Illinois, including Peoria and Galesburg, and other states to relocate the operations of a Japanese tractor- and excavator-building plant that will employ 1,400 people. The company cited, among other things, concerns about Illinois' economy and a massive state government budget deficit. ...More HERE
