A rally hopes to make the incoming Governor backtrack on high speed rail. Union activists and advocates want Governor-Elect Scott Walker to revive the high speed rail project after work on the Madison to Milwaukee train was halted.
Walker has asked Washington to shift the $810 million in federal funds allocated for the rail toward Wisconsin road construction and repair.
However Robert Kraig of Citizen Action of Wisconsin says the cost of work already done must be picked up by state taxpayers. He says the $100 million price tag can only by covered by a tax increase or public services being cut, in a time of a state budget deficit.
The rally takes place at Talgo, the company from Spain that was brought to Milwaukee to make two trains for the Wisconsin project. Kraig adds the Talgo location is a symbol of redevelopment as it houses the blighted AO Smith site where eight thousand people once worked. He says the rail will bring 5,000 construction jobs and 10,000 permanent jobs.
Other states like New York and Illinois have been vocal about using the rail money if Wisconsin is not interested.