A better tax climate is drawing business from Illinois to Wisconsin. That is what Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch told the legislature’s Joint Finance Committee today during his testimony of the Governor Walker’s proposed budget.
Among the businesses mentioned: Rockton, IL based Fat Wallet which will bring at least 50 jobs to Beloit and Crystal Lake, IL based Catalyst Exhibits is moving to Pleasant Prarie with 105 positions.
The Secretary of Administration noted Wisconsin added over 10,000 jobs in January and the Job Centers of Wisconsin website currently lists 26,000 open positions. He attributed Walker’s “innovative” polices passed during a special legislative session.
This is a far cry from previous the previous administration, according to Huebsch. A Forbes magazine ranking last year had Wisconsin the third worst state to do business.
Huebsch defended Walker’s budget cuts which aim to eliminate a $3.6 billion deficit. He said previous “gimmicks” such as tobacco settlement money, the Frankenstein veto, federal stimulus fund use and the Patient’s Compensation Fund raid never addressed the fundamental problems of too much government spending.
