Civic leaders tout what Peoria region already has to offer

Peoria-area civic leaders are ready to dust off the disappointment of the Caterpillar Inc. announcement about its headquarters and move forward because, they said Thursday, there is enough going on in the community that it will continue to thrive.

In fact, the head of the Greater Peoria Economic Development Council said 41 of the area’s employers have said they will add at least 9,200 jobs in the next 24 months, demonstrating that diversity is already here and will continue.

“That is some positive news and shows we have diversity and are building resilience,” said Jennifer Daly after announcing the results of a recently completed GPEDC survey of the area employers. “The loss of the 300 top Caterpillar jobs will be felt but the 12,000 who remain will continue to serve as a strong economic engine for the area. We should be proud of the diverse groups of industry we have.”

Daly joined several other area civic leaders at a news conference at the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce. The purpose was to let the community know that while the Caterpillar news came as a shock the community is prepared to move past it and continue growing well into the future.

Citing all the positive things happening in the region, Jeff Griffin, head of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce said that’s where the emphasis needs to be now. Among those he and others named were:

• The recent multi-million dollar expansion of RLI Corp., the leading specialty insurance company in the country;
• The ongoing work on the city of Peoria’s Warehouse District and the completion of East Peoria’s Levee District;
• The work the Chamber and CEO Council has done to help more than 1,000 employers grow;
• The growth of the health care industry in the region, making it the largest in downstate Illinois, and home of the only Level 1 Trauma Center in the region;
• The $1 billion worth of annual research and development in the community, including the Jump Trading Simulation Center, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Peoria NEXT, the ag lab and, of course, Caterpillar;
• The expansion of the Peoria Civic Center that has made it the largest convention center between St. Louis and Chicago;
• Establishment as a youth sports hub, including the Civic Center, Eastside Center and most recently the Louisville Slugger Complex, and
• The growth of the Gen. Wayne Downing Peoria International Airport, which now offers non-stop flights to four of the five largest hubs in the country.

Griffin said Caterpillar has promised Peoria will remain its hometown and that the company’s support of the region will not change. “We should be and we are proud of all we have to offer,” he said.

Gary Densberger, a commission for the city of East Peoria, said, “If ever there was a time to come together as a region, this is it.” He added that the relationships between the communities and Caterpillar need to remain strong or be strengthened so that the area is ready when the jobs that have been lost the last year or so come back.

Noting most of the Caterpillar manufacturing jobs in Illinois are in East Peoria, he added, “They are still there because Caterpillar still sees value in our region.”

Michael Freilinger, CEO of the Downtown Development Corp., said the area’s leaders have plans to diversify and strengthen the region, plans that have long been in place. “Efforts to advance our vision are still underway,” he said, noting that 184 residential units have been added downtown in the last three years with many more yet to come. More than $62 million worth of building permits have been issued for downtown work.

“Our city and our region have bright futures,” he said.

An industry seeing growth and having a bright future is tourism and conventions, said Don Welch, CEO of the Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau. He said the region is still executing plans set in place a decade ago when the decision was made to expand the Civic Center and the economic impact it has made already has been impressive.

Welch showed a brief video that was completed just before Caterpillar’s surprise announcement. That video talks about the diversity of the region and everything it has to offer residents and visitors alike, a video that would take some resident by surprise seeing it all together like that.

That video can be seen on the “Enjoy Peoria” page on YouTube.

Welch said there soon will be an announcement about a series of music festivals on Peoria’s riverfront, adding to the already-strong cultural assets in the community.

Mayor Jim Ardis reiterated what he said during a news conference Tuesday and again on Wednesday during his annual State of the City address, and that is the Caterpillar announcement “is not going to stop us. There is a lot of resolve in this community. If anything, we are probably more energized.”

Asked whether there was any chance the city might meet with Caterpillar directors about the decision and seeing if it can be reversed – as suggested by other civic leaders – Ardis said the decision has been made. “Let’s get over it and move on,” he said.

One Peoria business leader asked if the Caterpillar situation would affect the construction trades. James Dillon, a Peoria County Board member and the associate director of the West Central Illinois Building and Construction Trades Council, said there are many building projects going on or in the works in the region.

“We’ll be here. There are some exciting things going on,” he said.

Cat to move HQ to Chicagoland, but keep Peoria its 'hometown'

News that Peorians and much of central Illinois have feared for years came to be Tuesday morning when Caterpillar Inc. announced it will relocate its headquarters and its top executives to the Chicago area, likely by the end of this year.

Caterpillar said when the move is complete about 300 of its executives and support staff will be in the new headquarters and the rest will remain in Peoria.

While a location in Chicago has not yet been chosen, the company said it believes this move, putting the executive team closer to the travel hub that is Chicago, will do more to help Caterpillar regrow than building a new headquarters building in downtown Peoria. Plans for that new headquarters complex that was announced two years ago have been scrapped.

But company officials, namely new CEO Jim Umpleby, said Caterpillar will maintain a large presence in Peoria and that central Illinois will remain its largest job location going forward. He went so far as to say Peoria, where Caterpillar had been based since 1925, will continue to be the company’s “hometown.”

"Caterpillar's Board of Directors has been discussing the benefits of a more accessible, strategic location for some time," said Jim Umpleby, who became CEO on Jan. 1, replacing Doug Oberhelman, who remains chairman of the board through March.

"Since 2012, about two-thirds of Caterpillar's sales and revenues have come from outside the United States. Locating 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,” Umpleby said.

"We value our deep roots in Central Illinois, and Peoria will continue to be our hometown. The vast majority of our people will remain in this important region where we have many essential facilities and functions," added Umpleby. "The new location is also an opportunity to add to our talented team while improving the productivity of our senior leaders." 

Caterpillar will lease space in the Chicago area rather than build.

The company said its current headquarters at 100 NE Adams St. will continue to be home to many of its offices. Market conditions as well as “the need to prioritize resources to focus on growth” were cited as reasons to scrap the plans for the new complex that was going to envelope several city blocks in downtown Peoria. The new HQ was going to be built where the company parking deck is now.

Caterpillar said it will work with the city to find new uses for the block that housed Chase Bank and a CEFCU member center, bordered by Adams, Main, Washington and Fulton streets. Caterpillar bought up the block anticipating building its new parking deck there and it now is vacant.

Caterpillar said that over the last five years, even while facing challenging conditions that saw its revenues drop from its record $66 billion to $37 billion, it and its employees and retirees contributed more than $60 million to support thousands of families, organizations and programs across central Illinois. The company will continue its philanthropic support and deep civic involvement in the Peoria area.

Reaction to Caterpillar’s news, broken first in the Peoria Journal Star, was swift and for the most part, upbeat. That’s largely because of Caterpillar’s assurances Peoria will remain its hometown and because of the diversity the area has experienced the past couple of decades or so, mainly in health care.

"As mayor, I never want jobs moving out of the city. However, the overwhelming majority of Caterpillar employees and their families based in the Peoria area won't be impacted by this decision. I'm pleased Caterpillar continues to call Peoria its hometown," said Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis.

The mayor said the city continues to have confidence in the community and the leadership we have throughout greater Peoria. “Our community will continue to look for ways to expand our economy.  Peoria began as an agricultural town, then the nation’s distillery, and into a manufacturing giant. Some people do not realize that healthcare is now the largest employment sector in greater Peoria.  We are very thankful for this growth and stability. There are over 700 healthcare related businesses that employ over 32,000 people-18 percent of jobs in the greater Peoria area,” he said.  

Peoria County Board Chairman Andrew Rand considered the company’s global presence. “If Caterpillar succeeds globally, we win in Central Illinois. I'm disappointed we can't keep every job here, but if moving some of its team near Chicago helps Caterpillar thrive, it will benefit Peoria, our county and the surrounding communities," he said.

While Caterpillar said a chief reason for the move was to be closer to Chicago’s travel hub, Gene Olsen, director of the Wayne Downing Peoria International Airport said that it’s “important to note that we have daily nonstop flights to four of the top five most connected airports in the world.” That’s important for the 12,000 or more Caterpillar employees who will remain in the Peoria region.

Olsen also noted the community’s diversity when he said, “In addition, during a period of historic downturn for Caterpillar, we have managed to grow our passenger count and increase the number of direct flight destinations, which shows there is a lot more going on in Peoria and Central Illinois than just Caterpillar.”

U.S. Cheri Bustos, D-Moline, said there is no question Tuesday’s announcement “is a real blow. Our local economy is tied to the success of Caterpillar. My hope is that Caterpillar will keep the promise it made today for Peoria to remain its largest manufacturing site. I stand will all Peorians in expressing my deep disappointment with this decision.” 

State Sen. Chuck Weaver, R-Peoria, suggested that blame should not be assessed but rather, the future should be discussed. “Today we must again realize that we can take nothing for granted. Our decisions as a community must begin with an understanding that any corporation’s first loyalty is to the health of their enterprise. That is not a criticism. That is a reality. As a community, we will get the jobs and businesses we earn. It is not a time for blame. It is a time for clarity of thought, increased expectations of our leaders and increased expectations of ourselves. All of us have ownership for our collective future,” he said. 

State Rep. Ryan Spain, R-Peoria, said he was surprised Caterpillar would do this after all the city has done for the company. “Out of respect for our 90 year collaboration with Caterpillar, I urge the Board of Directors to meet with community leaders and reconsider this devastating move. In the mean-time, our community and business leaders will rally together under the clarion call for further economic diversification of Central Illinois' economy,” he said.

Ardis said there are reasons to believe Peoria will continue to grow and diversity. “We have an active start up presence, creating jobs in new sectors every day. As a community, we have a resiliency that is second to none. Our focus is on the whole region and ways we can grow this economy. We hold our current and future employers, and all of our citizens with the same weight as Caterpillar Inc.,” he said.

“While we cannot control what happens on the global stage, we can work together to strengthen Peoria.  Caterpillar is moving 300 executive positions to Chicago, but we are going to hold them to their word that 12,000 jobs will remain in the greater Peoria region and that Caterpillar will remain a huge presence – as an employer and as a civic and philanthropic leader,” Ardis said.

In an exclusive interview with the Journal Star, Umpleby said the board’s decision to make the move was recent but that it has been under consideration for some time.

“We are not abandoning Peoria, we are not going to be moving everyone in Peoria to Chicago. The great, great majority of employees in Peoria will still be here,” he said in that interview.

'Into The Woods' brings fantasy to life at Peoria Players

Blending several well-known fairy tales into one musical sounds like something only a person who can’t get enough happily-ever-afters would do. At least, that is, until Act 2. Then it all changes.

That’s what one gets with the Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine musical “Into The Woods,” which opens Friday at Peoria Players Theatre. And while the basis of the show is fantasy – sometimes light- often dark – the message audiences are left with is timely with today’s political landscape, said Connie Sinn, who is directing the show and its cast of 22 people.

“This really is a show with a message. It’s a message that we all need to work together and get rid of all the hatred and prejudices,” Sinn said. “The writers are trying to teach us a lesson that we are not alone in the world and that everything we do affects other people. We all need to be aware that we are a community.

“It is a very timely musical right now, I think.”

“Into The Woods” focuses on a baker and his wife who want to start a family. In their quest to do so and to rid themselves of a curse placed on them by a wicked witch, they pass through the fairy tales “Rapunzel,” “Jack and the Beanstalk”, “Cinderella” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” They meet and interact the main characters of those Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault fairy tales along the way, helping those characters fulfill each of their wishes as well as their own.

The story of the Baker and his Wife is the beginning of the “Rapunzel” tale and it is one they go into the woods that the stories intertwine, Sinn said. “And oh how wonderful it is when, by the end of Act 1, all the wishes have been fulfilled and it looks like everybody is going to live happily ever after,” she said.

“Then comes Act 2,” she added, stopping there so as not to give any more away.

“It’s a charming and very funny story. Even though it all works out by the end of Act 1, it is very entertaining to see how they arrive there,” Sinn said. “It truly is an ensemble piece with great roles and great music. It’s very difficult musically, but it is beautiful music. That is why I have wanted to direct this show from the first time I heard it.”

Sinn said she is fortunate to have Susan Somerville Brown direct the music and the 11-piece orchestra and Michelle Loeffler to do the choreography. “I’m extremely pleased with all of it,” said Sinn, who has directed many musicals on Peoria-area stages.

For this one, Sinn did much of the set, as well. In includes the woods, of course, and the books of the different fairy tales are set pieces. Sinn said she cut out the trees with a jigsaw herself. “I still have all my digits,” she added.

Her cast is largely well known among area theatre goers. Charles Brown is the narrator, Barba Couri is Jack’s Mother, Tony Roberts and Mariah Thornton Aberle are the Baker and his Wife, the evil stepsisters are Jillian Risinger and Clare Renee Zell, Mina Vogel is Red Riding Hood, Courtney Swan is the Witch and Dave Schick is the Wolf.

Other performers are Trisha Bagby as Cinderella, Cole Nicholson as Jack, Taylor Elizabeth as Cinderella’s stepmother, Adam Drake as her father and Monica Lin as her mother, Megan Mason is Granny, Kathleen Smith is Rapunzel, Alex Colligan is Rapunzel’s Prince, Andy Corbin is Cinderella’s Prince, Ron Janik is the Steward, Megan Mason and Kelly Jones are Snow White/Sleeping Beauty/Wood Nymphs and Zachary Robertson is Milky White, the cow.

“They all work so well together and we are having fun,” Sinn said.

Show times for “Into The Woods” are 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 3, 4, 9, 10 and 11 and 2 p.m. on Feb. 5 and 12. Tickets are $19 for adults and $12 for students and may be purchased at www.peoriaplayers.org.

Illinois Chamber doesn't like proposed 'job tax'

From ILLINOIS NEWS NETWORK

The Illinois Chamber says it has a number of problems with the “grand bargain” pending in the state’s senate, but one problem stands out — the tax for the “privilege of doing business in Illinois.”

“We call it the job tax,” the Illinois Chamber of Commerce’s Todd Maisch explained. “For a state that lost 17-thousand jobs last month to come up with a response that says ‘Let’s put more taxes on jobs,’ is really problematic.”

Maisch said all jobs in the state are important, but small businesses drive a lot of the job creation.

“It is so heavily weighted toward small and medium sized employers, who are particularly ill positioned to go ahead and afford it.”

Maisch said the Illinois Chamber is also not a big fan of many of the other $6 billion in tax increases included in the Senate’s bargain.

Instead, Maisch wishes lawmakers would focus more on adding jobs and growing the state out of its economic morass.

The State Senate adjourned last week without voting on the plan, which reportedly will increase taxes on a variety of items, including income, business and service taxes, while increasing spending by about $4 billion.

However, Senate President John Cullerton, D-Chicago, has told lawmakers to be prepared to vote when they return to the capitol next week.