I find it difficult to believe anybody from here to Chicago to Springfield or Galesburg really expected Caterpillar Inc. to build its new factory anywhere in Illinois. That includes Gov. Pat Quinn. For him to say he was disappointed Caterpillar chose the Athens, Ga. area for the factory and its 1,400 is one thing; to act even remotely surprised was another.

Then to say that the only reason Caterpillar made that decision was because Illinois didn't have a seaport was just silly. He knows it was far more than that; Caterpillar was clear — to the governor, to the General Assembly and to the public — that even if East Peoria or Galesburg sat on an oceanfront the business climate in Illinois would have sunk their chances of getting the factory.