Quinn for Illinois

PEORIA — The boss of Caterpillar Tuesday reiterated his intentions to keep the heavy machinery manufacturer in Illinois after disclosing earlier his firm was being wooed by several states after Illinois raised income taxes.

“I think Caterpillar is here to stay,” Caterpillar CEO Doug Oberhelman told reporters after meeting with the governor in a hotel near the company’s headquarters. The company employs more than 23,000 in the state.

During their meeting, he and Quinn said they discussed the need for Illinois to increase its exports and to reform its costly workers’ compensation system in an effort to make the state’s business climate more competitive.

Quinn said he is committed to those aims.

“Caterpillar is the heart and soul of our economy,” the governor said. “We want to double our exports in five years, and one of our leading exporters is Caterpillar.”

In January, Quinn signed off on income tax increases to both the corporate and personal rates that are estimated to generate around $6.8 billion for the state. The corporate rate increased from 4.8 percent to 7 percent.

Tuesday’s meeting came after Oberhelman sent a letter to the governor that stated Caterpillar had at least three states trying to lure the business away from Illinois since the tax hike.