{"id":50534,"date":"2017-02-01T12:56:41","date_gmt":"2017-02-01T18:56:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=50534"},"modified":"2017-02-01T12:59:02","modified_gmt":"2017-02-01T18:59:02","slug":"proud-peoria-looks-ahead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/proud-peoria-looks-ahead\/","title":{"rendered":"Proud Peoria looks ahead"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Yemeng Yang<\/strong><\/p>\n

Peoria was saddened Tuesday by Caterpillar Inc.\u2019s plan to move its headquarters to the Chicago area later this year, but the proud municipality of 186,000 is looking forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re disappointed today with the decision made by Caterpillar,\u201d said Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich in a phone interview. \u201cBut at the same time, I think what\u2019s important to point out is that we have a very strong economy here in Peoria.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Since 2012, about two-thirds of Caterpillar\u2019s sales and revenues have come from outside the United States.<\/p>\n

\u201cLocating our headquarters closer to a global transportation hub, such as Chicago, means we can meet with our global customers, dealers and employees more easily and frequently,\u201d said Jim Umpleby, Caterpillar\u2019s chief executive officer, in a statement.<\/p>\n

Some positions will be relocated from the Peoria area to the Chicago office, and \u201ca limited number\u201d of senior executives will move there. The company expects about 300 employees eventually will be based in Chicago.<\/p>\n

Caterpillar promised to retain 12,000 jobs in the Peoria area.<\/p>\n

Despite removing hundreds of jobs, Caterpillar said it will continue to support families, organizations and programs across Central Illinois, to which the company has contributed more than $60 million over the past five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur commitment to the Peoria area remains strong and we will continue our philanthropic support and deep civic involvement in the Peoria area,\u201d Caterpillar spokeswoman Rachel Potts said in an email.<\/p>\n

The manufacturing town seeks to expand its economy despite the loss.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a community, we have a resiliency that is second to none,\u201d Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis said in a statement.<\/p>\n

Perhaps surprisingly, the largest employment sector in Peoria is healthcare rather than manufacturing. There are over 700 healthcare-related businesses that employ more than 32,000 people, which is 18 percent of the jobs in the Peoria area, Ardis said.<\/p>\n

Some employers in the healthcare industry affirmed their continued commitment to the town.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect Caterpillar\u2019s decision,\u201d said Debbie Simon, president of UnityPoint Health\u2013Peoria. \u201cAs the region\u2019s third largest employer, we are committed to partnering with local leaders and doing our part to ensure the Peoria region remains economically vital for years to come.”<\/p>\n

Photo at top: Caterpillar built its present global headquarters building in Peoria in 1967. (Source: Caterpillar Inc.)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Yemeng Yang Peoria was saddened Tuesday by Caterpillar Inc.\u2019s plan to move its headquarters to the Chicago area later this year, but the proud municipality of 186,000 is looking forward. \u201cWe\u2019re disappointed today with the decision made by Caterpillar,\u201d said Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich in a phone interview. \u201cBut at the same time, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":346,"featured_media":50557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,3516],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50534","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-winter-2017"],"yoast_head":"\nProud Peoria looks ahead - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/proud-peoria-looks-ahead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Proud Peoria looks ahead - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Yemeng Yang Peoria was saddened Tuesday by Caterpillar Inc.\u2019s plan to move its headquarters to the Chicago area later this year, but the proud municipality of 186,000 is looking forward. \u201cWe\u2019re disappointed today with the decision made by Caterpillar,\u201d said Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich in a phone interview. \u201cBut at the same time, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/proud-peoria-looks-ahead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-01T18:56:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-02-01T18:59:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2017\/02\/Caterpillar-AB-.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"700\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"yemengyang2017\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"yemengyang2017\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/proud-peoria-looks-ahead\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/proud-peoria-looks-ahead\/\",\"name\":\"Proud Peoria looks ahead - 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