Caterpillar Should Expect Gov. Scott's Call; Will it Play in Peoria?

Florida shouldn't get its hopes up over an MSNBC report that Caterpillar Inc. is threatening to leave Illinois in search of greener, less-taxing pastures.

For starters, the Peoria-based big-equipment giant says MSNBC got the story wrong. The company, according to CAT spokesman Joe Dugan, isn't going anywhere.

"The story was based on a letter that was leaked," Dugan told Sunshine State News. In that letter to Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn, CAT executives expressed concern about the fiscal and tax situation in the state.

The missive went on to suggest that CAT would base future expansion decisions on any increase in that Democratic-run state's corporate taxes.

But Dugan said the correspondence was not a goodbye letter, or a threat. He said that the company intends to maintain its base in Illinois.

Still, since CAT's letter put the expansion issue in play -- and since the company already has a logistics presence in Florida -- Gov. Rick Scott will surely keep the lines open to Peoria.

Scott, a native of Illinois, has pledged to abolish Florida's corporate tax and spends a portion of each day calling corporate executives who might be inclined to relocate.