Metro East Sun

As another manufacturing company has set its sights on Texas to relocate its headquarters, U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) said she was "shocked" about the company's decision to leave Illinois.

In a June 16 Facebook post, state Sen. Jason Plummer (R-Vandalia) attacked Duckworth over her reaction to Caterpillar's departure.

"Tammy Duckworth is 'shocked.' lol...these people are so out of touch," Plummer wrote in the post. "Dick Durbin, JB Pritzker, and the whole gang. They've decimated Illinois' middle class with a crushing tax load, they've decimated Illinois' once vibrant business community with crushing regulations, a broken worker's comp system, and a litigation environment that ensures frivolous, extortion-level lawsuit abuse against Illinois employers. If Senator Duckworth was 'shocked' by this and doesn't understand the consequences of her progressive policies, perhaps she shouldn't be a senator. She is on the ballot this year. Maybe Illinoisans will 'shock' her out."

In his Facebook post, Sen. Plummer shared a link to a Free Beacon article about Duckworth's reaction to Caterpillar's announcement. The Senator took to Twitter where she said she was "shocked and disappointed," and that she would keep encouraging the company to preserve jobs in Illinois. 

Caterpillar announced their decision to relocate headquarters to Irving, TX this year on June 14. "We believe it's in the best strategic interest of the company to make this move, which supports Caterpillar's strategy for profitable growth as we help our customers build a better, more sustainable world," Jim Umpleby, Caterpillar Chairman and CEO, said in a news release.  Illinois still has the largest concentration of Caterpillar employees worldwide. 

Bloomberg noted that the company "believes the move will help it attract new talent and improve global access to its employees, customers and dealer network due to the two major airports in the region." About 230 jobs would be affected by the move.