A slip of the tongue from Terry Bibo?
Her most recent column includes this line- “Holling, on the other hand, had himself just been unloaded from Caterpillar Inc.”
Unloaded? As in forced out? He retired. That was the company line at the time and the Journal Star wrote a nice puff piece about him. If you’ll recall, just under the surface, there was some controversy surrounding him that no-one wanted to publicly broach. I’m not here to cast stones or drum up an old and tired subject, but Terry Bibo’s comment struck me as funny. Unloaded. I wonder what she meant by that?
July 28th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
I can’t believe that this crap is coming up again.
I do not know Henry Holling. I think we may have exchanged a grand total of five words since he came on as temporary Peoria City Manager.
But as long as we’re discussing rumors and innuendo, I’ll pass along what I have heard.
Holling was in charge of corporate giving at Caterpillar. He also has been deeply involved as a volunteer/board member for several area charities. Supposedly, he was well liked and well respected.
One day, he gets a new boss — definitely someone higher up than him on the Cat corporate food chain. This person takes an immediate dislike to him and begins undercutting him and bad mouthing him at every opportunity.
What are his friends going to do? Defend him and risk losing whatever corporate support they get from Big Yellow? Holling decides that since retirement is imminent, he’s just going to lay low and work behind the scenes on behalf of these organizations he supports so they don’t suffer repercussions.
Anyway, that’s the rumor, which I bring up now because this is about NOTHING but rumors.
We all know about his drunk driving conviction. We all know the case was adjudicated with a sentence in line with someone with the same record.
Yet, the well-orchestrated smear campaign implied — always anonymously and never saying what else it was he was supposed to have done — hit my site and CJ’s site hard.
And here we are again. Doing the same damn thing all over again.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Sorry to hit a soft nerve there, but I’m not the one who said ‘unloaded’ instead of ‘retired’. I’m just pointing it out for better or worse.
July 28th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Actually, Billy, I thought the same thing PI did. I am surprised that you are so shocked about rumors in politics.
July 28th, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Not blaming you, PI. I’m blaming the rumor mongering in this city. You know, it’s not so much the rumors, its the deliberate spreading of lies to attack someone for political purposes that really pisses me off.
July 28th, 2008 at 9:27 pm
Hey Billy, why don’t you check into a “rumor” about Holling and an overseas employee who was in Peoria for a brief period…….doubtful you’ll get anyone to comment…though it seems to be common knowledge among many CAT employees
July 28th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
And also from what I’ve heard about “rumors” regarding Holling….lets just say he deserves all the “bad mouthing” and “undercutting”……
Watch who you hitch your horse to on this one, Billy……the truth is there but maybe for legal reasons can’t come out…..
Now if you want some real political rumormongering……I heard a great story regarding the boy wonder…..
July 29th, 2008 at 8:47 am
Anonymous,
I would be very careful about accepting as fact what CAT employees think of as “common knowledge”. There are enough “true” rumors circulating in that place to fill a whole year of Enquirers. I know teenage girls who are less melodramatic than guys on the floor at CAT.
July 31st, 2008 at 5:31 pm
By “on the floor at CAT”, do you mean the shop floor?
August 4th, 2008 at 3:22 pm
What is the great stroy regarding the boy wonder?
August 6th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
It involves some alleged camera phone pics that a local union member took at a bar. The member informed his local prez about the pics and was told to not release them…….
February 1st, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Hello. And Bye.
March 20th, 2009 at 7:01 am
very intresting