Peoria Pundit

First, I want to thank Caterpillar CEO Jim Owens and his family for their many contributions of time and money to this community. Second, I want to state that Mr. Owens has every right to support the museum with his own money, and he has every right to exercise his freedom of speech to encourage employees of Caterpillar to vote in favor of the museum tax referendum on April 7. His letter to employees — which many received today — is reprinted below.

But before any Caterpillar employee decides to follow Mr. Owen’s advice, I’d like to exercise my free speech rights and encourage them to visit this site and read the many, many arguments against this tax.

I am not arguing against Caterpillar’s involvement in this community. I have seen how Caterpillar can step in and provide expertise and funding when it feels it is necessary (their help is keeping downtown free of snow is a marvel to see). And I am told that Cat does far more of this sort of thing than other major employers in other nearby communities, and for that I am grateful.

But I would hope that anyone on the fence regarding this tax referendum should note that the generosity of Caterpillar as a corporation and of its personnel does not obligate us as voters to vote the way Mr. Owens suggests, not that he is saying it should.

And I now note than C.J. has posted his comments on the letter.

Mr. Owen’s letter:

Dear Team Caterpillar:

In 2002 my predecessor, Chairman Glen Barton, committed Caterpillar’s support to a new regional museum. Since then the company has supported this project to revitalize the downtown Peoria community. Our involvement has grown from a relatively simple presence in the new museum to the current concept — a separate facility housing a corporate visitor center, called the Caterpillar Experience.

This new riverfront development along with the proposed renovation of the Hotel Pere Marquette and the recent expansion of the Civic Center, should transform the landscape of downtown Peoria. The Museum project specifically will offer tremendous educational and entertainment opportunities to residents throughout Central Illinois.

Peoria County voters now have an opportunity to support the Museum project through a countywide referendum on April 7. The proposed 0.25 percent county sales tax increase will provide critical public funding for the new Museum. As federal and state funding sources have disappeared, this local funding initiative has become the last opportunity for moving this project forward.

If you live in Peoria County and can vote on this referendum, I encourage your support. Without a doubt, this project will make Peoria a better place to live, will make downtown Peoria a better place to work and will help us attract the best and brightest employees for the future.

Please remember to vote on April 7. You’ll find the issue as the last item on the ballot which references “public facilities sales tax.” If you’re going to be out of town on election day, you can take advantage of early voting between March 16 and April 2.

Thank you for your support. This is an important opportunity for the members of Team Caterpillar to make a difference in Peoria.

Sincerely,

James W. Owens

This entry was posted on March 31, 2009 at 1:36 pm and is filed under Local with tags Caterpillar, Museum, referendum, taxes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed Both comments and pings are currently closed.